Method and apparatus for multiple-input multiple-output (mimo) radar sensing with reconfigurable intelligent surface (ris)

ABSTRACT

In an aspect, a wireless node may determine a sub-panel configuration associated with a reconfigurable intelligence surface (RIS) that includes a plurality of sub-panels. The wireless node may transmit or receive one or more signals via one or more sub-panels of the plurality of sub-panels in accordance with the sub-panel configuration.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 1. Field of the Disclosure

Aspects of the disclosure relate generally to wireless communications.

2. Description of the Related Art

Wireless communication systems have developed through variousgenerations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service(1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (includinginterim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speeddata, Internet-capable wireless service and a fourth-generation (4G)service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). There are presentlymany different types of wireless communication systems in use, includingcellular and personal communications service (PCS) systems. Examples ofknown cellular systems include the cellular analog advanced mobile phonesystem (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), timedivision multiple access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobilecommunications (GSM), etc.

A fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, referred to as New Radio(NR), enables higher data transfer speeds, greater numbers ofconnections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5Gstandard, according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, isdesigned to provide higher data rates as compared to previous standards,more accurate positioning (e.g., based on reference signals forpositioning (RS-P), such as downlink, uplink, or sidelink positioningreference signals (PRS)), and other technical enhancements. Theseenhancements, as well as the use of higher frequency bands, advances inPRS processes and technology, and high-density deployments for 5G,enable highly accurate 5G-based positioning.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary relating to one or moreaspects disclosed herein. Thus, the following summary should not beconsidered an extensive overview relating to all contemplated aspects,nor should the following summary be considered to identify key orcritical elements relating to all contemplated aspects or to delineatethe scope associated with any particular aspect. Accordingly, thefollowing summary has the sole purpose to present certain conceptsrelating to one or more aspects relating to the mechanisms disclosedherein in a simplified form to precede the detailed descriptionpresented below.

In an aspect, a method of operating a wireless node includes determininga sub-panel configuration associated with a reconfigurable intelligencesurface (RIS) that includes a plurality of sub-panels; and transmittingor receiving one or more signals via one or more sub-panels of theplurality of sub-panels in accordance with the sub-panel configuration.

In an aspect, a method of operating a wireless node includes determininga first configuration associated with a first group of reconfigurableintelligence surfaces (RIS's), each RIS of the first group of RIS'sbeing configured based on the first configuration for enabling arespective signal path from the wireless node toward a first targetarea; and transmitting or receiving a first plurality of signals, to orfrom the first target area, via the first group of RIS's in accordancewith the first configuration.

In an aspect, a wireless node includes a memory; at least onetransceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thememory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processorconfigured to: determine a sub-panel configuration associated with areconfigurable intelligence surface (RIS) that includes a plurality ofsub-panels; and transmit or receive, via the at least one transceiver,one or more signals via one or more sub-panels of the plurality ofsub-panels in accordance with the sub-panel configuration.

In an aspect, a wireless node includes a memory; at least onetransceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thememory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processorconfigured to: determine a first configuration associated with a firstgroup of reconfigurable intelligence surfaces (RIS's), each RIS of thefirst group of RIS's being configured based on the first configurationfor enabling a respective signal path from the wireless node toward afirst target area; and transmit or receive, via the at least onetransceiver, a first plurality of signals, to or from the first targetarea, via the first group of RIS's in accordance with the firstconfiguration.

In an aspect, a wireless node includes means for determining a sub-panelconfiguration associated with a reconfigurable intelligence surface(RIS) that includes a plurality of sub-panels; and means fortransmitting or receiving one or more signals via one or more sub-panelsof the plurality of sub-panels in accordance with the sub-panelconfiguration.

In an aspect, a wireless node includes means for determining a firstconfiguration associated with a first group of reconfigurableintelligence surfaces (RIS's), each RIS of the first group of RIS'sbeing configured based on the first configuration for enabling arespective signal path from the wireless node toward a first targetarea; and means for transmitting or receiving a first plurality ofsignals, to or from the first target area, via the first group of RIS'sin accordance with the first configuration.

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storescomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node,cause the wireless node to: determine a sub-panel configurationassociated with a reconfigurable intelligence surface (RIS) thatincludes a plurality of sub-panels; and transmit or receiving one ormore signals via one or more sub-panels of the plurality of sub-panelsin accordance with the sub-panel configuration.

In an aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storescomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node,cause the wireless node to: determine a first configuration associatedwith a first group of reconfigurable intelligence surfaces (RIS's), eachRIS of the first group of RIS's being configured based on the firstconfiguration for enabling a respective signal path from the wirelessnode toward a first target area; and transmit or receive a firstplurality of signals, to or from the first target area, via the firstgroup of RIS's in accordance with the first configuration.

Other objects and advantages associated with the aspects disclosedherein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on theaccompanying drawings and detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description ofvarious aspects of the disclosure and are provided solely forillustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system, accordingto aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C illustrate example wireless network structures,according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are simplified block diagrams of several sampleaspects of components that may be employed in a user equipment (UE),abase station, and a network entity, respectively, and configured tosupport communications as taught herein.

FIGS. 4A to 4C illustrate various types of radar.

FIG. 5A illustrates a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar systemhaving widely separated transmit antennas and widely separated receiveantennas.

FIG. 5B illustrates a MIMO radar system having co-located transmitantennas and co-located receive antennas.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example system for wireless communication using areconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), according to aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example architecture of a RIS, according toaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method of operating a wireless node,according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a MIMO radar system with RIS sub-panels-based MIMOradar sensing, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a MIMO radar system based on at least onetransmission-specific sub-panel and at least one reception-specificsub-panel, according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates another example method of operating a wireless node,according to aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate a MIMO radar system with RIS grouping forMIMO radar sensing, according to aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the disclosure are provided in the following description andrelated drawings directed to various examples provided for illustrationpurposes. Alternate aspects may be devised without departing from thescope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of thedisclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as notto obscure the relevant details of the disclosure.

The words “exemplary” and/or “example” are used herein to mean “servingas an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described hereinas “exemplary” and/or “example” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term“aspects of the disclosure” does not require that all aspects of thedisclosure include the discussed feature, advantage or mode ofoperation.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the information andsignals described below may be represented using any of a variety ofdifferent technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions,commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may bereferenced throughout the description below may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof, depending inpart on the particular application, in part on the desired design, inpart on the corresponding technology, etc.

Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions tobe performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will berecognized that various actions described herein can be performed byspecific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits(ASICs)), by program instructions being executed by one or moreprocessors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, the sequence(s)of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirelywithin any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumhaving stored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that,upon execution, would cause or instruct an associated processor of adevice to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the variousaspects of the disclosure may be embodied in a number of differentforms, all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of theclaimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the aspects describedherein, the corresponding form of any such aspects may be describedherein as, for example, “logic configured to” perform the describedaction.

As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” arenot intended to be specific or otherwise limited to any particular radioaccess technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE may beany wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tabletcomputer, laptop computer, consumer asset locating device, wearable(e.g., smartwatch, glasses, augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR)headset, etc.), vehicle (e.g., automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.),Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicateover a wireless communications network. A UE may be mobile or may (e.g.,at certain times) be stationary, and may communicate with a radio accessnetwork (RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred tointerchangeably as an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a“wireless device,” a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a“subscriber station,” a “user terminal” or “UT,” a “mobile device,” a“mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” or variations thereof.

Generally, UEs can communicate with a core network via a RAN, andthrough the core network the UEs can be connected with external networkssuch as the Internet and with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms ofconnecting to the core network and/or the Internet are also possible forthe UEs, such as over wired access networks, wireless local area network(WLAN) networks (e.g., based on the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specification, etc.) and so on.

A base station may operate according to one of several RATs incommunication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed,and may be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a networknode, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), aNew Radio (NR) Node B (also referred to as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. A basestation may be used primarily to support wireless access by UEs,including supporting data, voice, and/or signaling connections for thesupported UEs. In some systems a base station may provide purely edgenode signaling functions while in other systems it may provideadditional control and/or network management functions.

A communication link through which UEs can send signals to a basestation is called an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse trafficchannel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). Acommunication link through which the base station can send signals toUEs is called a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a pagingchannel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward trafficchannel, etc.). As used herein the term traffic channel (TCH) can referto either an uplink/reverse or downlink/forward traffic channel.

The term “base station” may refer to a single physicaltransmission-reception point (TRP) or to multiple physical TRPs that mayor may not be co-located. For example, where the term “base station”refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna ofthe base station corresponding to a cell (or several cell sectors) ofthe base station.

Where the term “base station” refers to multiple co-located physicalTRPs, the physical TRPs may be an array of antennas (e.g., as in amultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base stationemploys beamforming) of the base station. Where the term “base station”refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRPs maybe a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separatedantennas connected to a common source via a transport medium) or aremote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a servingbase station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRPs may bethe serving base station receiving the measurement report from the UEand a neighbor base station whose reference radio frequency (RF) signalsthe UE is measuring. Because a TRP is the point from which a basestation transmits and receives wireless signals, as used herein,references to transmission from or reception at a base station are to beunderstood as referring to a particular TRP of the base station.

In some implementations that support positioning of UEs, a base stationmay not support wireless access by UEs (e.g., may not support data,voice, and/or signaling connections for UEs), but may instead transmitreference signals to UEs to be measured by the UEs, and/or may receiveand measure signals transmitted by the UEs. Such a base station may bereferred to as a positioning beacon (e.g., when transmitting signals toUEs) and/or as a location measurement unit (e.g., when receiving andmeasuring signals from UEs).

An “RF signal” comprises an electromagnetic wave of a given frequencythat transports information through the space between a transmitter anda receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single “RFsignal” or multiple “RF signals” to a receiver.

However, the receiver may receive multiple “RF signals” corresponding toeach transmitted RF signal due to the propagation characteristics of RFsignals through multipath channels. The same transmitted RF signal ondifferent paths between the transmitter and receiver may be referred toas a “multipath” RF signal. As used herein, an RF signal may also bereferred to as a “wireless signal” or simply a “signal” where it isclear from the context that the term “signal” refers to a wirelesssignal or an RF signal.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communications system 100,according to aspects of the disclosure. The wireless communicationssystem 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide areanetwork (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 (labeled “BS”) andvarious UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macro cell basestations (high power cellular base stations) and/or small cell basestations (low power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs and/or ng-eNBs where the wirelesscommunications system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs wherethe wireless communications system 100 corresponds to a NR network, or acombination of both, and the small cell base stations may includefemtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and interface with acore network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC))through backhaul links 122, and through the core network 170 to one ormore location servers 172 (e.g., a location management function (LMF) ora secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP)). Thelocation server(s) 172 may be part of core network 170 or may beexternal to core network 170. A location server 172 may be integratedwith a base station 102. A UE 104 may communicate with a location server172 directly or indirectly. For example, a UE 104 may communicate with alocation server 172 via the base station 102 that is currently servingthat UE 104. A UE 104 may also communicate with a location server 172through another path, such as via an application server (not shown), viaanother network, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) accesspoint (AP) (e.g., AP 150 described below), and so on. For signalingpurposes, communication between a UE 104 and a location server 172 maybe represented as an indirect connection (e.g., through the core network170, etc.) or a direct connection (e.g., as shown via direct connection128), with the intervening nodes (if any) omitted from a signalingdiagram for clarity.

In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 may performfunctions that relate to one or more of transferring user data, radiochannel ciphering and deciphering, integrity protection, headercompression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dualconnectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection setupand release, load balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS)messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimediabroadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment trace, RANinformation management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery ofwarning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each otherdirectly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC/5GC) over backhaul links134, which may be wired or wireless.

The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the UEs 104. Eachof the base stations 102 may provide communication coverage for arespective geographic coverage area 110. In an aspect, one or more cellsmay be supported by a base station 102 in each geographic coverage area110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used for communicationwith a base station (e.g., over some frequency resource, referred to asa carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, band, or the like), andmay be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier(PCI), an enhanced cell identifier (ECI), a virtual cell identifier(VCI), a cell global identifier (CGI), etc.) for distinguishing cellsoperating via the same or a different carrier frequency. In some cases,different cells may be configured according to different protocol types(e.g., machine-type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT),enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others) that may provide access fordifferent types of UEs. Because a cell is supported by a specific basestation, the term “cell” may refer to either or both of the logicalcommunication entity and the base station that supports it, depending onthe context. In addition, because a TRP is typically the physicaltransmission point of a cell, the terms “cell” and “TRP” may be usedinterchangeably. In some cases, the term “cell” may also refer to ageographic coverage area of a base station (e.g., a sector), insofar asa carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication withinsome portion of geographic coverage areas 110.

While neighboring macro cell base station 102 geographic coverage areas110 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of thegeographic coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by alarger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell basestation 102′ (labeled “SC” for “small cell”) may have a geographiccoverage area 110′ that substantially overlaps with the geographiccoverage area 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A networkthat includes both small cell and macro cell base stations may be knownas a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also includehome eNBs (HeNBs), which may provide service to a restricted group knownas a closed subscriber group (CSG).

The communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link)transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink (DL)(also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base station 102to a UE 104. The communication links 120 may use MIMO antennatechnology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmitdiversity. The communication links 120 may be through one or morecarrier frequencies. Allocation of carriers may be asymmetric withrespect to downlink and uplink (e.g., more or less carriers may beallocated for downlink than for uplink).

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication withWLAN stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in an unlicensedfrequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensedfrequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and/or the WLAN AP 150 may performa clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedureprior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel isavailable.

The small cell base station 102′ may operate in a licensed and/or anunlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequencyspectrum, the small cell base station 102′ may employ LTE or NRtechnology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as usedby the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102′, employing LTE/5Gin an unlicensed frequency spectrum, may boost coverage to and/orincrease capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum maybe referred to as NR-U. LTE in an unlicensed spectrum may be referred toas LTE-U, licensed assisted access (LAA), or MulteFire.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a millimeterwave (mmW) base station 180 that may operate in mmW frequencies and/ornear mmW frequencies in communication with a UE 182. Extremely highfrequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHFhas a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 millimeterand 10 millimeters. Radio waves in this band may be referred to as amillimeter wave. Near mmW may extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with awavelength of 100 millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) bandextends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave.Communications using the mmW/near mmW radio frequency band have highpath loss and a relatively short range. The mmW base station 180 and theUE 182 may utilize beamforming (transmit and/or receive) over a mmWcommunication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path lossand short range. Further, it will be appreciated that in alternativeconfigurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit usingmmW or near mmW and beamforming. Accordingly, it will be appreciatedthat the foregoing illustrations are merely examples and should not beconstrued to limit the various aspects disclosed herein.

Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing an RF signal in aspecific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a basestation) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in alldirections (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the networknode determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located(relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a strongerdownlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing afaster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal for the receivingdevice(s). To change the directionality of the RF signal whentransmitting, a network node can control the phase and relativeamplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters thatare broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node may use anarray of antennas (referred to as a “phased array” or an “antennaarray”) that creates a beam of RF waves that can be “steered” to pointin different directions, without actually moving the antennas.Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to theindividual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that theradio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase theradiation in a desired direction, while cancelling to suppress radiationin undesired directions.

Transmit beams may be quasi-co-located, meaning that they appear to thereceiver (e.g., a UE) as having the same parameters, regardless ofwhether or not the transmitting antennas of the network node themselvesare physically co-located. In NR, there are four types ofquasi-co-location (QCL) relations. Specifically, a QCL relation of agiven type means that certain parameters about a second reference RFsignal on a second beam can be derived from information about a sourcereference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RFsignal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RFsignal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, anddelay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receivercan use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift andDoppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receivercan use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift andaverage delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receivercan use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial receiveparameter of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the samechannel.

In receive beamforming, the receiver uses a receive beam to amplify RFsignals detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver canincrease the gain setting and/or adjust the phase setting of an array ofantennas in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., to increase thegain level of) the RF signals received from that direction. Thus, when areceiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, it means the beamgain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along otherdirections, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest comparedto the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams availableto the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength(e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal receivedquality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) ofthe RF signals received from that direction.

Transmit and receive beams may be spatially related. A spatial relationmeans that parameters for a second beam (e.g., a transmit or receivebeam) for a second reference signal can be derived from informationabout a first beam (e.g., a receive beam or a transmit beam) for a firstreference signal. For example, a UE may use a particular receive beam toreceive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., synchronizationsignal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmitbeam for sending an uplink reference signal (e.g., sounding referencesignal (SRS)) to that base station based on the parameters of thereceive beam.

Note that a “downlink” beam may be either a transmit beam or a receivebeam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base stationis forming the downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, thedownlink beam is a transmit beam. If the UE is forming the downlinkbeam, however, it is a receive beam to receive the downlink referencesignal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam may be either a transmit beam or areceive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a basestation is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and ifa UE is forming the uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided, based onfrequency/wavelength, into various classes, bands, channels, etc. In 5GNR two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency rangedesignations FR1 (410 MHz-7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz-52.6 GHz). Itshould be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band invarious documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimesoccurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably)as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite beingdifferent from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz)which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)as a “millimeter wave” band.

The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-bandfrequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified an operating band forthese mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125GHz-24.25 GHz). Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1characteristics and/or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectivelyextend features of FR1 and/or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. Inaddition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operatingbands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1(52.6 GHz-71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz-114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz-300GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

With the above aspects in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, itshould be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like if usedherein may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz,may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unlessspecifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term“millimeter wave” or the like if used herein may broadly representfrequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2,FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and/or FR5, or may be within the EHF band.

In a multi-carrier system, such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies isreferred to as the “primary carrier” or “anchor carrier” or “primaryserving cell” or “PCell,” and the remaining carrier frequencies arereferred to as “secondary carriers” or “secondary serving cells” or“SCells.” In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrieroperating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by a UE 104/182and the cell in which the UE 104/182 either performs the initial radioresource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiatesthe RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The primary carriercarries all common and UE-specific control channels, and may be acarrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case).A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g.,FR2) that may be configured once the RRC connection is establishedbetween the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and that may be used toprovide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carriermay be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier maycontain only necessary signaling information and signals, for example,those that are UE-specific may not be present in the secondary carrier,since both primary uplink and downlink carriers are typicallyUE-specific. This means that different UEs 104/182 in a cell may havedifferent downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplinkprimary carriers. The network is able to change the primary carrier ofany UE 104/182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance theload on different carriers. Because a “serving cell” (whether a PCell oran SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency/component carrier overwhich some base station is communicating, the term “cell,” “servingcell,” “component carrier,” “carrier frequency,” and the like can beused interchangeably.

For example, still referring to FIG. 1 , one of the frequencies utilizedby the macro cell base stations 102 may be an anchor carrier (or“PCell”) and other frequencies utilized by the macro cell base stations102 and/or the mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers(“SCells”). The simultaneous transmission and/or reception of multiplecarriers enables the UE 104/182 to significantly increase its datatransmission and/or reception rates. For example, two 20 MHz aggregatedcarriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically lead to atwo-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz), compared to that attainedby a single 20 MHz carrier.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include a UE 164 thatmay communicate with a macro cell base station 102 over a communicationlink 120 and/or the mmW base station 180 over a mmW communication link184. For example, the macro cell base station 102 may support a PCelland one or more SCells for the UE 164 and the mmW base station 180 maysupport one or more SCells for the UE 164.

In some cases, the UE 164 and the UE 182 may be capable of sidelinkcommunication. Sidelink-capable UEs (SL-UEs) may communicate with basestations 102 over communication links 120 using the Uu interface (i.e.,the air interface between a UE and a base station). SL-UEs (e.g., UE164, UE 182) may also communicate directly with each other over awireless sidelink 160 using the PC5 interface (i.e., the air interfacebetween sidelink-capable UEs). A wireless sidelink (or just “sidelink”)is an adaptation of the core cellular (e.g., LTE, NR) standard thatallows direct communication between two or more UEs without thecommunication needing to go through a base station. Sidelinkcommunication may be unicast or multicast, and may be used fordevice-to-device (D2D) media-sharing, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication (e.g., cellularV2X (cV2X) communication, enhanced V2X (eV2X) communication, etc.),emergency rescue applications, etc. One or more of a group of SL-UEsutilizing sidelink communications may be within the geographic coveragearea 110 of a base station 102. Other SL-UEs in such a group may beoutside the geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 102 or beotherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station 102. Insome cases, groups of SL-UEs communicating via sidelink communicationsmay utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each SL-UE transmits toevery other SL-UE in the group. In some cases, a base station 102facilitates the scheduling of resources for sidelink communications. Inother cases, sidelink communications are carried out between SL-UEswithout the involvement of a base station 102.

In an aspect, the sidelink 160 may operate over a wireless communicationmedium of interest, which may be shared with other wirelesscommunications between other vehicles and/or infrastructure accesspoints, as well as other RATs. A “medium” may be composed of one or moretime, frequency, and/or space communication resources (e.g.,encompassing one or more channels across one or more carriers)associated with wireless communication between one or moretransmitter/receiver pairs. In an aspect, the medium of interest maycorrespond to at least a portion of an unlicensed frequency band sharedamong various RATs. Although different licensed frequency bands havebeen reserved for certain communication systems (e.g., by a governmententity such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the UnitedStates), these systems, in particular those employing small cell accesspoints, have recently extended operation into unlicensed frequency bandssuch as the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) bandused by wireless local area network (WLAN) technologies, most notablyIEEE 802.11x WLAN technologies generally referred to as “Wi-Fi.” Examplesystems of this type include different variants of CDMA systems, TDMAsystems, FDMA systems, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) systems, single-carrierFDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and so on.

Note that although FIG. 1 only illustrates two of the UEs as SL-UEs(i.e., UEs 164 and 182), any of the illustrated UEs may be SL-UEs.Further, although only UE 182 was described as being capable ofbeamforming, any of the illustrated UEs, including UE 164, may becapable of beamforming. Where SL-UEs are capable of beamforming, theymay beamform towards each other (i.e., towards other SL-UEs), towardsother UEs (e.g., UEs 104), towards base stations (e.g., base stations102, 180, small cell 102′, access point 150), etc. Thus, in some cases,UEs 164 and 182 may utilize beamforming over sidelink 160.

In the example of FIG. 1 , any of the illustrated UEs (shown in FIG. 1as a single UE 104 for simplicity) may receive signals 124 from one ormore Earth orbiting space vehicles (SVs) 112 (e.g., satellites). In anaspect, the SVs 112 may be part of a satellite positioning system that aUE 104 can use as an independent source of location information. Asatellite positioning system typically includes a system of transmitters(e.g., SVs 112) positioned to enable receivers (e.g., UEs 104) todetermine their location on or above the Earth based, at least in part,on positioning signals (e.g., signals 124) received from thetransmitters. Such a transmitter typically transmits a signal markedwith a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of a set number of chips.While typically located in SVs 112, transmitters may sometimes belocated on ground-based control stations, base stations 102, and/orother UEs 104. A UE 104 may include one or more dedicated receiversspecifically designed to receive signals 124 for deriving geo locationinformation from the SVs 112.

In a satellite positioning system, the use of signals 124 can beaugmented by various satellite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) thatmay be associated with or otherwise enabled for use with one or moreglobal and/or regional navigation satellite systems. For example an SBASmay include an augmentation system(s) that provides integrityinformation, differential corrections, etc., such as the Wide AreaAugmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary NavigationOverlay Service (EGNOS), the Multi-functional Satellite AugmentationSystem (MSAS), the Global Positioning System (GPS) Aided Geo AugmentedNavigation or GPS and Geo Augmented Navigation system (GAGAN), and/orthe like. Thus, as used herein, a satellite positioning system mayinclude any combination of one or more global and/or regional navigationsatellites associated with such one or more satellite positioningsystems.

In an aspect, SVs 112 may additionally or alternatively be part of oneor more non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). In an NTN, an SV 112 isconnected to an earth station (also referred to as a ground station, NTNgateway, or gateway), which in turn is connected to an element in a 5Gnetwork, such as a modified base station 102 (without a terrestrialantenna) or a network node in a 5GC. This element would in turn provideaccess to other elements in the 5G network and ultimately to entitiesexternal to the 5G network, such as Internet web servers and other userdevices. In that way, a UE 104 may receive communication signals (e.g.,signals 124) from an SV 112 instead of, or in addition to, communicationsignals from a terrestrial base station 102.

The wireless communications system 100 may further include one or moreUEs, such as UE 190, that connects indirectly to one or morecommunication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D)peer-to-peer (P2P) links (referred to as “sidelinks”). In the example ofFIG. 1 , UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connectedto one of the base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE 190 mayindirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 withWLAN STA 152 connected to the WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 mayindirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In an example, theD2D P2P links 192 and 194 may be supported with any well-known D2D RAT,such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, and so on.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example wireless network structure 200. Forexample, a 5GC 210 (also referred to as a Next Generation Core (NGC))can be viewed functionally as control plane (C-plane) functions 214(e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gatewayselection, etc.) and user plane (U-plane) functions 212, (e.g., UEgateway function, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.) whichoperate cooperatively to form the core network. User plane interface(NG-U) 213 and control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect the gNB 222 tothe 5GC 210 and specifically to the user plane functions 212 and controlplane functions 214, respectively. In an additional configuration, anng-eNB 224 may also be connected to the 5GC 210 via NG-C 215 to thecontrol plane functions 214 and NG-U 213 to user plane functions 212.Further, ng-eNB 224 may directly communicate with gNB 222 via a backhaulconnection 223. In some configurations, a Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)220 may have one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations includeone or more of both ng-eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. Either (or both) gNB 222or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with one or more UEs 204 (e.g., any of theUEs described herein).

Another optional aspect may include a location server 230, which may bein communication with the 5GC 210 to provide location assistance forUE(s) 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as a plurality ofseparate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different softwaremodules on a single server, different software modules spread acrossmultiple physical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond toa single server. The location server 230 can be configured to supportone or more location services for UEs 204 that can connect to thelocation server 230 via the core network, 5GC 210, and/or via theInternet (not illustrated). Further, the location server 230 may beintegrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively may beexternal to the core network (e.g., a third party server, such as anoriginal equipment manufacturer (OEM) server or service server).

FIG. 2B illustrates another example wireless network structure 240. A5GC 260 (which may correspond to 5GC 210 in FIG. 2A) can be viewedfunctionally as control plane functions, provided by an access andmobility management function (AMF) 264, and user plane functions,provided by a user plane function (UPF) 262, which operate cooperativelyto form the core network (i.e., 5GC 260). The functions of the AMF 264include registration management, connection management, reachabilitymanagement, mobility management, lawful interception, transport forsession management (SM) messages between one or more UEs 204 (e.g., anyof the UEs described herein) and a session management function (SMF)266, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, accessauthentication and access authorization, transport for short messageservice (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and the short message servicefunction (SMSF) (not shown), and security anchor functionality (SEAF).The AMF 264 also interacts with an authentication server function (AUSF)(not shown) and the UE 204, and receives the intermediate key that wasestablished as a result of the UE 204 authentication process. In thecase of authentication based on a UMTS (universal mobiletelecommunications system) subscriber identity module (USIM), the AMF264 retrieves the security material from the AUSF. The functions of theAMF 264 also include security context management (SCM). The SCM receivesa key from the SEAF that it uses to derive access-network specific keys.The functionality of the AMF 264 also includes location servicesmanagement for regulatory services, transport for location servicesmessages between the UE 204 and a location management function (LMF) 270(which acts as a location server 230), transport for location servicesmessages between the NG-RAN 220 and the LMF 270, evolved packet system(EPS) bearer identifier allocation for interworking with the EPS, and UE204 mobility event notification. In addition, the AMF 264 also supportsfunctionalities for non-3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project)access networks.

Functions of the UPF 262 include acting as an anchor point forintra-/inter-RAT mobility (when applicable), acting as an externalprotocol data unit (PDU) session point of interconnect to a data network(not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection,user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, trafficsteering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic usagereporting, quality of service (QoS) handling for the user plane (e.g.,uplink/downlink rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in thedownlink), uplink traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoSflow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink anddownlink, downlink packet buffering and downlink data notificationtriggering, and sending and forwarding of one or more “end markers” tothe source RAN node. The UPF 262 may also support transfer of locationservices messages over a user plane between the UE 204 and a locationserver, such as an SLP 272.

The functions of the SMF 266 include session management, UE Internetprotocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and controlof user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF262 to route traffic to the proper destination, control of part ofpolicy enforcement and QoS, and downlink data notification. Theinterface over which the SMF 266 communicates with the AMF 264 isreferred to as the N11 interface.

Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270, which may be incommunication with the 5GC 260 to provide location assistance for UEs204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as a plurality of separate servers(e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on asingle server, different software modules spread across multiplephysical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a singleserver. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more locationservices for UEs 204 that can connect to the LMF 270 via the corenetwork, 5GC 260, and/or via the Internet (not illustrated). The SLP 272may support similar functions to the LMF 270, but whereas the LMF 270may communicate with the AMF 264, NG-RAN 220, and UEs 204 over a controlplane (e.g., using interfaces and protocols intended to convey signalingmessages and not voice or data), the SLP 272 may communicate with UEs204 and external clients (e.g., third-party server 274) over a userplane (e.g., using protocols intended to carry voice and/or data likethe transmission control protocol (TCP) and/or IP).

Yet another optional aspect may include a third-party server 274, whichmay be in communication with the LMF 270, the SLP 272, the 5GC 260(e.g., via the AMF 264 and/or the UPF 262), the NG-RAN 220, and/or theUE 204 to obtain location information (e.g., a location estimate) forthe UE 204. As such, in some cases, the third-party server 274 may bereferred to as a location services (LCS) client or an external client.The third-party server 274 can be implemented as a plurality of separateservers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software moduleson a single server, different software modules spread across multiplephysical servers, etc.), or alternately may each correspond to a singleserver.

User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect the 5GC260, and specifically the UPF 262 and AMF 264, respectively, to one ormore gNBs 222 and/or ng-eNBs 224 in the NG-RAN 220. The interfacebetween gNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 and the AMF 264 is referred toas the “N2” interface, and the interface between gNB(s) 222 and/orng-eNB(s) 224 and the UPF 262 is referred to as the “N3” interface. ThegNB(s) 222 and/or ng-eNB(s) 224 of the NG-RAN 220 may communicatedirectly with each other via backhaul connections 223, referred to asthe “Xn-C” interface. One or more of gNBs 222 and/or ng-eNBs 224 maycommunicate with one or more UEs 204 over a wireless interface, referredto as the “Uu” interface.

The functionality of a gNB 222 may be divided between a gNB central unit(gNB-CU) 226, one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs) 228, and oneor more gNB radio units (gNB-RUs) 229. A gNB-CU 226 is a logical nodethat includes the base station functions of transferring user data,mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, sessionmanagement, and the like, except for those functions allocatedexclusively to the gNB-DU(s) 228. More specifically, the gNB-CU 226generally host the radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptationprotocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) protocolsof the gNB 222. A gNB-DU 228 is a logical node that generally hosts theradio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layer of thegNB 222. Its operation is controlled by the gNB-CU 226. One gNB-DU 228can support one or more cells, and one cell is supported by only onegNB-DU 228. The interface 232 between the gNB-CU 226 and the one or moregNB-DUs 228 is referred to as the “F1” interface. The physical (PHY)layer functionality of a gNB 222 is generally hosted by one or morestandalone gNB-RUs 229 that perform functions such as poweramplification and signal transmission/reception. The interface between agNB-DU 228 and a gNB-RU 229 is referred to as the “Fx” interface. Thus,a UE 204 communicates with the gNB-CU 226 via the RRC, SDAP, and PDCPlayers, with a gNB-DU 228 via the RLC and MAC layers, and with a gNB-RU229 via the PHY layer.

Deployment of communication systems, such as 5G NR systems, may bearranged in multiple manners with various components or constituentparts. In a 5G NR system, or network, a network node, a network entity,a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, anetwork element, or a network equipment, such as a base station, or oneor more units (or one or more components) performing base stationfunctionality, may be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregatedarchitecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB),evolved NB (eNB), NR base station, 5G NB, access point (AP), a transmitreceive point (TRP), or a cell, etc.) may be implemented as anaggregated base station (also known as a standalone base station or amonolithic base station) or a disaggregated base station.

An aggregated base station may be configured to utilize a radio protocolstack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RANnode. A disaggregated base station may be configured to utilize aprotocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two ormore units (such as one or more central or centralized units (CUs), oneor more distributed units (DUs), or one or more radio units (RUs)). Insome aspects, a CU may be implemented within a RAN node, and one or moreDUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may begeographically or virtually distributed throughout one or multiple otherRAN nodes. The DUs may be implemented to communicate with one or moreRUs. Each of the CU, DU and RU also can be implemented as virtual units,i.e., a virtual central unit (VCU), a virtual distributed unit (VDU), ora virtual radio unit (VRU).

Base station-type operation or network design may consider aggregationcharacteristics of base station functionality. For example,disaggregated base stations may be utilized in an integrated accessbackhaul (IAB) network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as thenetwork configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance)), or avirtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radioaccess network (C-RAN)). Disaggregation may include distributingfunctionality across two or more units at various physical locations, aswell as distributing functionality for at least one unit virtually,which can enable flexibility in network design. The various units of thedisaggregated base station, or disaggregated RAN architecture, can beconfigured for wired or wireless communication with at least one otherunit.

FIG. 2C illustrates an example disaggregated base station architecture250, according to aspects of the disclosure. The disaggregated basestation architecture 250 may include one or more central units (CUs) 280(e.g., gNB-CU 226) that can communicate directly with a core network 267(e.g., 5GC 210, 5GC 260) via a backhaul link, or indirectly with thecore network 267 through one or more disaggregated base station units(such as a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) 259via an E2 link, or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC 257 associated with aService Management and Orchestration (SMO) Framework 255, or both). A CU280 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 285 (e.g.,gNB-DUs 228) via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. TheDUs 285 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 287 (e.g.,gNB-RUs 229) via respective fronthaul links. The RUs 287 may communicatewith respective UEs 204 via one or more radio frequency (RF) accesslinks. In some implementations, the UE 204 may be simultaneously servedby multiple RUs 287.

Each of the units, i.e., the CUs 280, the DUs 285, the RUs 287, as wellas the Near-RT RICs 259, the Non-RT RICs 257 and the SMO Framework 255,may include one or more interfaces or be coupled to one or moreinterfaces configured to receive or transmit signals, data, orinformation (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmissionmedium. Each of the units, or an associated processor or controllerproviding instructions to the communication interfaces of the units, canbe configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via thetransmission medium. For example, the units can include a wiredinterface configured to receive or transmit signals over a wiredtransmission medium to one or more of the other units. Additionally, theunits can include a wireless interface, which may include a receiver, atransmitter or transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver),configured to receive or transmit signals, or both, over a wirelesstransmission medium to one or more of the other units.

In some aspects, the CU 280 may host one or more higher layer controlfunctions. Such control functions can include radio resource control(RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptationprotocol (SDAP), or the like. Each control function can be implementedwith an interface configured to communicate signals with other controlfunctions hosted by the CU 280. The CU 280 may be configured to handleuser plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-User Plane (CU-UP)),control plane functionality (i.e., Central Unit-Control Plane (CU-CP)),or a combination thereof. In some implementations, the CU 280 can belogically split into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CPunits. The CU-UP unit can communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CPunit via an interface, such as the E1 interface when implemented in anO-RAN configuration. The CU 280 can be implemented to communicate withthe DU 285, as necessary, for network control and signaling.

The DU 285 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or morebase station functions to control the operation of one or more RUs 287.In some aspects, the DU 285 may host one or more of a radio link control(RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more highphysical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction(FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, orthe like) depending, at least in part, on a functional split, such asthose defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In someaspects, the DU 285 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Eachlayer (or module) can be implemented with an interface configured tocommunicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by the DU285, or with the control functions hosted by the CU 280.

Lower-layer functionality can be implemented by one or more RUs 287. Insome deployments, an RU 287, controlled by a DU 285, may correspond to alogical node that hosts RF processing functions, or low-PHY layerfunctions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT(iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH)extraction and filtering, or the like), or both, based at least in parton the functional split, such as a lower layer functional split. In suchan architecture, the RU(s) 287 can be implemented to handle over the air(OTA) communication with one or more UEs 204. In some implementations,real-time and non-real-time aspects of control and user planecommunication with the RU(s) 287 can be controlled by the correspondingDU 285. In some scenarios, this configuration can enable the DU(s) 285and the CU 280 to be implemented in a cloud-based RAN architecture, suchas a vRAN architecture.

The SMO Framework 255 may be configured to support RAN deployment andprovisioning of non-virtualized and virtualized network elements. Fornon-virtualized network elements, the SMO Framework 255 may beconfigured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources forRAN coverage requirements which may be managed via an operations andmaintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized networkelements, the SMO Framework 255 may be configured to interact with acloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 269) toperform network element life cycle management (such as to instantiatevirtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface(such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements caninclude, but are not limited to, CUs 280, DUs 285, RUs 287 and Near-RTRICs 259. In some implementations, the SMO Framework 255 can communicatewith a hardware aspect of a 4G RAN, such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 261, viaan O1 interface. Additionally, in some implementations, the SMOFramework 255 can communicate directly with one or more RUs 287 via anO1 interface. The SMO Framework 255 also may include a Non-RT RIC 257configured to support functionality of the SMO Framework 255.

The Non-RT RIC 257 may be configured to include a logical function thatenables non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements andresources, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) workflowsincluding model training and updates, or policy-based guidance ofapplications/features in the Near-RT RIC 259. The Non-RT RIC 257 may becoupled to or communicate with (such as via an A1 interface) the Near-RTRIC 259. The Near-RT RIC 259 may be configured to include a logicalfunction that enables near-real-time control and optimization of RANelements and resources via data collection and actions over an interface(such as via an E2 interface) connecting one or more CUs 280, one ormore DUs 285, or both, as well as an O-eNB, with the Near-RT RIC 259.

In some implementations, to generate AI/ML models to be deployed in theNear-RT RIC 259, the Non-RT RIC 257 may receive parameters or externalenrichment information from external servers. Such information may beutilized by the Near-RT RIC 259 and may be received at the SMO Framework255 or the Non-RT RIC 257 from non-network data sources or from networkfunctions. In some examples, the Non-RT RIC 257 or the Near-RT RIC 259may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, theNon-RT RIC 257 may monitor long-term trends and patterns for performanceand employ AI/ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMOFramework 255 (such as reconfiguration via O1) or via creation of RANmanagement policies (such as A1 policies).

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate several example components (representedby corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (whichmay correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304(which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), anda network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of thenetwork functions described herein, including the location server 230and the LMF 270, or alternatively may be independent from the NG-RAN 220and/or 5GC 210/260 infrastructure depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, such as aprivate network) to support the operations described herein. It will beappreciated that these components may be implemented in different typesof apparatuses in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in asystem-on-chip (SoC), etc.). The illustrated components may also beincorporated into other apparatuses in a communication system. Forexample, other apparatuses in a system may include components similar tothose described to provide similar functionality. Also, a givenapparatus may contain one or more of the components. For example, anapparatus may include multiple transceiver components that enable theapparatus to operate on multiple carriers and/or communicate viadifferent technologies.

The UE 302 and the base station 304 each include one or more wirelesswide area network (WWAN) transceivers 310 and 350, respectively,providing means for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, meansfor receiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means forrefraining from transmitting, etc.) via one or more wirelesscommunication networks (not shown), such as an NR network, an LTEnetwork, a GSM network, and/or the like. The WWAN transceivers 310 and350 may each be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356,respectively, for communicating with other network nodes, such as otherUEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc., via at leastone designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wirelesscommunication medium of interest (e.g., some set of time/frequencyresources in a particular frequency spectrum). The WWAN transceivers 310and 350 may be variously configured for transmitting and encodingsignals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, and soon), respectively, and, conversely, for receiving and decoding signals318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, and soon), respectively, in accordance with the designated RAT. Specifically,the WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively,for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

The UE 302 and the base station 304 each also include, at least in somecases, one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360,respectively. The short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may beconnected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, and providemeans for communicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means forreceiving, means for measuring, means for tuning, means for refrainingfrom transmitting, etc.) with other network nodes, such as other UEs,access points, base stations, etc., via at least one designated RAT(e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, Z-Wave®, PC5, dedicatedshort-range communications (DSRC), wireless access for vehicularenvironments (WAVE), near-field communication (NFC), ultra-wideband(UWB), etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest. Theshort-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 may be variouslyconfigured for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g.,messages, indications, information, and so on), respectively, and,conversely, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368 (e.g.,messages, indications, information, pilots, and so on), respectively, inaccordance with the designated RAT. Specifically, the short-rangewireless transceivers 320 and 360 include one or more transmitters 324and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively,for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively. Asspecific examples, the short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360 maybe WiFi transceivers, Bluetooth® transceivers, Zigbee® and/or Z-Wave®transceivers, NFC transceivers, UWB transceivers, or vehicle-to-vehicle(V2V) and/or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) transceivers.

The UE 302 and the base station 304 also include, at least in somecases, satellite signal receivers 330 and 370. The satellite signalreceivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and376, respectively, and may provide means for receiving and/or measuringsatellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378, respectively.Where the satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 are satellitepositioning system receivers, the satellite positioning/communicationsignals 338 and 378 may be global positioning system (GPS) signals,global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals,Beidou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC),Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. Where the satellite signalreceivers 330 and 370 are non-terrestrial network (NTN) receivers, thesatellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378 may becommunication signals (e.g., carrying control and/or user data)originating from a 5G network. The satellite signal receivers 330 and370 may comprise any suitable hardware and/or software for receiving andprocessing satellite positioning/communication signals 338 and 378,respectively. The satellite signal receivers 330 and 370 may requestinformation and operations as appropriate from the other systems, and,at least in some cases, perform calculations to determine locations ofthe UE 302 and the base station 304, respectively, using measurementsobtained by any suitable satellite positioning system algorithm.

The base station 304 and the network entity 306 each include one or morenetwork transceivers 380 and 390, respectively, providing means forcommunicating (e.g., means for transmitting, means for receiving, etc.)with other network entities (e.g., other base stations 304, othernetwork entities 306). For example, the base station 304 may employ theone or more network transceivers 380 to communicate with other basestations 304 or network entities 306 over one or more wired or wirelessbackhaul links. As another example, the network entity 306 may employthe one or more network transceivers 390 to communicate with one or morebase station 304 over one or more wired or wireless backhaul links, orwith other network entities 306 over one or more wired or wireless corenetwork interfaces.

A transceiver may be configured to communicate over a wired or wirelesslink. A transceiver (whether a wired transceiver or a wirelesstransceiver) includes transmitter circuitry (e.g., transmitters 314,324, 354, 364) and receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352,362). A transceiver may be an integrated device (e.g., embodyingtransmitter circuitry and receiver circuitry in a single device) in someimplementations, may comprise separate transmitter circuitry andseparate receiver circuitry in some implementations, or may be embodiedin other ways in other implementations. The transmitter circuitry andreceiver circuitry of a wired transceiver (e.g., network transceivers380 and 390 in some implementations) may be coupled to one or more wirednetwork interface ports. Wireless transmitter circuitry (e.g.,transmitters 314, 324, 354, 364) may include or be coupled to aplurality of antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as anantenna array, that permits the respective apparatus (e.g., UE 302, basestation 304) to perform transmit “beamforming,” as described herein.Similarly, wireless receiver circuitry (e.g., receivers 312, 322, 352,362) may include or be coupled to a plurality of antennas (e.g.,antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such as an antenna array, that permits therespective apparatus (e.g., UE 302, base station 304) to perform receivebeamforming, as described herein. In an aspect, the transmittercircuitry and receiver circuitry may share the same plurality ofantennas (e.g., antennas 316, 326, 356, 366), such that the respectiveapparatus can only receive or transmit at a given time, not both at thesame time. A wireless transceiver (e.g., WWAN transceivers 310 and 350,short-range wireless transceivers 320 and 360) may also include anetwork listen module (NLM) or the like for performing variousmeasurements.

As used herein, the various wireless transceivers (e.g., transceivers310, 320, 350, and 360, and network transceivers 380 and 390 in someimplementations) and wired transceivers (e.g., network transceivers 380and 390 in some implementations) may generally be characterized as “atransceiver,” “at least one transceiver,” or “one or more transceivers.”As such, whether a particular transceiver is a wired or wirelesstransceiver may be inferred from the type of communication performed.For example, backhaul communication between network devices or serverswill generally relate to signaling via a wired transceiver, whereaswireless communication between a UE (e.g., UE 302) and a base station(e.g., base station 304) will generally relate to signaling via awireless transceiver.

The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 alsoinclude other components that may be used in conjunction with theoperations as disclosed herein. The UE 302, the base station 304, andthe network entity 306 include one or more processors 332, 384, and 394,respectively, for providing functionality relating to, for example,wireless communication, and for providing other processingfunctionality. The processors 332, 384, and 394 may therefore providemeans for processing, such as means for determining, means forcalculating, means for receiving, means for transmitting, means forindicating, etc. In an aspect, the processors 332, 384, and 394 mayinclude, for example, one or more general purpose processors, multi-coreprocessors, central processing units (CPUs), ASICs, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), otherprogrammable logic devices or processing circuitry, or variouscombinations thereof.

The UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306 includememory circuitry implementing memories 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., eachincluding a memory device), respectively, for maintaining information(e.g., information indicative of reserved resources, thresholds,parameters, and so on). The memories 340, 386, and 396 may thereforeprovide means for storing, means for retrieving, means for maintaining,etc. In some cases, the UE 302, the base station 304, and the networkentity 306 may include Sensing Component 342, 388, and 398,respectively. The Sensing Component 342, 388, and 398 may be hardwarecircuits that are part of or coupled to the processors 332, 384, and394, respectively, that, when executed, cause the UE 302, the basestation 304, and the network entity 306 to perform the functionalitydescribed herein. In other aspects, the Sensing Component 342, 388, and398 may be external to the processors 332, 384, and 394 (e.g., part of amodem processing system, integrated with another processing system,etc.). Alternatively, the Sensing Component 342, 388, and 398 may bememory modules stored in the memories 340, 386, and 396, respectively,that, when executed by the processors 332, 384, and 394 (or a modemprocessing system, another processing system, etc.), cause the UE 302,the base station 304, and the network entity 306 to perform thefunctionality described herein. FIG. 3A illustrates possible locationsof the Sensing Component 342, which may be, for example, part of the oneor more WWAN transceivers 310, the memory 340, the one or moreprocessors 332, or any combination thereof, or may be a standalonecomponent. FIG. 3B illustrates possible locations of the SensingComponent 388, which may be, for example, part of the one or more WWANtransceivers 350, the memory 386, the one or more processors 384, or anycombination thereof, or may be a standalone component. FIG. 3Cillustrates possible locations of the Sensing Component 398, which maybe, for example, part of the one or more network transceivers 390, thememory 396, the one or more processors 394, or any combination thereof,or may be a standalone component.

The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the one ormore processors 332 to provide means for sensing or detecting movementand/or orientation information that is independent of motion dataderived from signals received by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310,the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, and/or thesatellite signal receiver 330. By way of example, the sensor(s) 344 mayinclude an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electrical mechanical systems(MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), analtimeter (e.g., a barometric pressure altimeter), and/or any other typeof movement detection sensor. Moreover, the sensor(s) 344 may include aplurality of different types of devices and combine their outputs inorder to provide motion information. For example, the sensor(s) 344 mayuse a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and orientation sensorsto provide the ability to compute positions in two-dimensional (2D)and/or three-dimensional (3D) coordinate systems.

In addition, the UE 302 includes a user interface 346 providing meansfor providing indications (e.g., audible and/or visual indications) to auser and/or for receiving user input (e.g., upon user actuation of asensing device such a keypad, a touch screen, a microphone, and so on).Although not shown, the base station 304 and the network entity 306 mayalso include user interfaces.

Referring to the one or more processors 384 in more detail, in thedownlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to theprocessor 384. The one or more processors 384 may implementfunctionality for an RRC layer, a packet data convergence protocol(PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium accesscontrol (MAC) layer. The one or more processors 384 may provide RRClayer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information(e.g., master information block (MIB), system information blocks(SIBs)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRCconnection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRCconnection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configurationfor UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated withheader compression/decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering,integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover supportfunctions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upperlayer PDUs, error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ),concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units(SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC dataPDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping betweenlogical channels and transport channels, scheduling informationreporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channelprioritization.

The transmitter 354 and the receiver 352 may implement Layer-1 (L1)functionality associated with various signal processing functions.Layer-1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, may include errordetection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC)coding/decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching,mapping onto physical channels, modulation/demodulation of physicalchannels, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 handlesmapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes(e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying(QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation(M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split intoparallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with areference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and/or frequency domain, andthen combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) toproduce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream.The OFDM symbol stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatialstreams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used todetermine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatialprocessing. The channel estimate may be derived from a reference signaland/or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Eachspatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier with a respectivespatial stream for transmission.

At the UE 302, the receiver 312 receives a signal through its respectiveantenna(s) 316. The receiver 312 recovers information modulated onto anRF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors332. The transmitter 314 and the receiver 312 implement Layer-1functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Thereceiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information torecover any spatial streams destined for the UE 302. If multiple spatialstreams are destined for the UE 302, they may be combined by thereceiver 312 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The receiver 312 thenconverts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequencydomain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signalcomprises a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDMsignal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, arerecovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signalconstellation points transmitted by the base station 304. These softdecisions may be based on channel estimates computed by a channelestimator. The soft decisions are then decoded and de-interleaved torecover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted bythe base station 304 on the physical channel. The data and controlsignals are then provided to the one or more processors 332, whichimplements Layer-3 (L3) and Layer-2 (L2) functionality.

In the downlink, the one or more processors 332 provides demultiplexingbetween transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering,header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IPpackets from the core network. The one or more processors 332 are alsoresponsible for error detection.

Similar to the functionality described in connection with the downlinktransmission by the base station 304, the one or more processors 332provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information(e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurementreporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with headercompression/decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering,integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionalityassociated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correctionthrough ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs,re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; andMAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channelsand transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks(TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling informationreporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request(HARQ), priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator from a referencesignal or feedback transmitted by the base station 304 may be used bythe transmitter 314 to select the appropriate coding and modulationschemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streamsgenerated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antenna(s)316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with a respectivespatial stream for transmission.

The uplink transmission is processed at the base station 304 in a mannersimilar to that described in connection with the receiver function atthe UE 302. The receiver 352 receives a signal through its respectiveantenna(s) 356. The receiver 352 recovers information modulated onto anRF carrier and provides the information to the one or more processors384.

In the uplink, the one or more processors 384 provides demultiplexingbetween transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering,header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packetsfrom the UE 302. IP packets from the one or more processors 384 may beprovided to the core network. The one or more processors 384 are alsoresponsible for error detection.

For convenience, the UE 302, the base station 304, and/or the networkentity 306 are shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C as including variouscomponents that may be configured according to the various examplesdescribed herein. It will be appreciated, however, that the illustratedcomponents may have different functionality in different designs. Inparticular, various components in FIGS. 3A to 3C are optional inalternative configurations and the various aspects includeconfigurations that may vary due to design choice, costs, use of thedevice, or other considerations. For example, in case of FIG. 3A, aparticular implementation of UE 302 may omit the WWAN transceiver(s) 310(e.g., a wearable device or tablet computer or PC or laptop may haveWi-Fi and/or Bluetooth capability without cellular capability), or mayomit the short-range wireless transceiver(s) 320 (e.g., cellular-only,etc.), or may omit the satellite signal receiver 330, or may omit thesensor(s) 344, and so on. In another example, in case of FIG. 3B, aparticular implementation of the base station 304 may omit the WWANtransceiver(s) 350 (e.g., a Wi-Fi “hotspot” access point withoutcellular capability), or may omit the short-range wirelesstransceiver(s) 360 (e.g., cellular-only, etc.), or may omit thesatellite signal receiver 370, and so on. For brevity, illustration ofthe various alternative configurations is not provided herein, but wouldbe readily understandable to one skilled in the art.

The various components of the UE 302, the base station 304, and thenetwork entity 306 may be communicatively coupled to each other overdata buses 334, 382, and 392, respectively. In an aspect, the data buses334, 382, and 392 may form, or be part of, a communication interface ofthe UE 302, the base station 304, and the network entity 306,respectively. For example, where different logical entities are embodiedin the same device (e.g., gNB and location server functionalityincorporated into the same base station 304), the data buses 334, 382,and 392 may provide communication between them.

The components of FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C may be implemented in variousways. In some implementations, the components of FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3Cmay be implemented in one or more circuits such as, for example, one ormore processors and/or one or more ASICs (which may include one or moreprocessors). Here, each circuit may use and/or incorporate at least onememory component for storing information or executable code used by thecircuit to provide this functionality. For example, some or all of thefunctionality represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented byprocessor and memory component(s) of the UE 302 (e.g., by execution ofappropriate code and/or by appropriate configuration of processorcomponents). Similarly, some or all of the functionality represented byblocks 350 to 388 may be implemented by processor and memorycomponent(s) of the base station 304 (e.g., by execution of appropriatecode and/or by appropriate configuration of processor components). Also,some or all of the functionality represented by blocks 390 to 398 may beimplemented by processor and memory component(s) of the network entity306 (e.g., by execution of appropriate code and/or by appropriateconfiguration of processor components). For simplicity, variousoperations, acts, and/or functions are described herein as beingperformed “by a UE,” “by a base station,” “by a network entity,” etc.However, as will be appreciated, such operations, acts, and/or functionsmay actually be performed by specific components or combinations ofcomponents of the UE 302, base station 304, network entity 306, etc.,such as the processors 332, 384, 394, the transceivers 310, 320, 350,and 360, the memories 340, 386, and 396, the Sensing Component 342, 388,and 398, etc.

In some designs, the network entity 306 may be implemented as a corenetwork component. In other designs, the network entity 306 may bedistinct from a network operator or operation of the cellular networkinfrastructure (e.g., NG RAN 220 and/or 5GC 210/260). For example, thenetwork entity 306 may be a component of a private network that may beconfigured to communicate with the UE 302 via the base station 304 orindependently from the base station 304 (e.g., over a non-cellularcommunication link, such as WiFi).

There are different types of radar, such as, for example, monostatic,bistatic, and multistatic radar (note that bistatic radar is a type ofmultistatic radar). FIGS. 4A to 4C illustrate examples of various typesof radar. Specifically, FIG. 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating amonostatic radar scenario, FIG. 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating abistatic radar scenario, and FIG. 4C is a diagram 450 illustrating amultistatic radar scenario.

In FIG. 4A, the transmitter and receiver are co-located. This is thetypical use case for traditional, or conventional, radar. In an aspect,any wireless communication device (e.g., a UE or a base station) can beconfigured to perform RF sensing based on the monostatic radar scenario.The transmitter can transmit a sensing signal, and the co-locatedreceiver can receive a returning signal that is a result of a targetobject interacting with (e.g., reflecting) the sensing signal. In FIG.4A, the solid line represents the sensing signal from the transmitter,and the dashed line represents the returning signal from the targetobject.

A radar station (not shown) that is coupled with the transmitter and thereceiver can measure the time difference between transmission of thesensing signal and reception of the returning signal, and can determinea distance of the target object based on at least the measured timedifference. In an aspect, the radar station can determine othercharacteristics of the target object, such as a direction, a movingdirection, and a moving speed of the target object, based on thedirectivity of the sensing signal and/or the frequency and phase changesof the returning signal.

In FIG. 4B, the transmitter and receiver are not co-located, but rather,are separated. This is the typical use case for wirelesscommunication-based (e.g., WiFi-based, LTE-based, NR-based) RF sensing.Note that while FIG. 4B illustrates using a downlink RF signal as the RFsensing signal, uplink RF signals can also be used as RF sensingsignals. In a downlink scenario, as shown, the transmitter is a basestation and the receiver is a UE, whereas in an uplink scenario, thetransmitter is a UE and the receiver is a base station.

Referring to FIG. 4B in greater detail, the base station transmits RFsensing signals (e.g., PRS) to the UE, but some of the RF sensingsignals reflect off a target object. In FIG. 4B, the solid linerepresents RF sensing signals that followed the direct (or line-of-sight(LOS)) path between the base station and the UE (labeled as “LOSSignal”), and the dashed lines represent the RF sensing signals thatfollowed a reflected (or non-line-of-sight (NLOS)) path between the basestation and the UE due to reflecting off the target object (labeled as“NLOS Signal”). The base station may have transmitted multiple RFsensing signals in different directions, some of which followed thedirect path and others of which followed the reflected path.Alternatively, the base station may have transmitted a single RF sensingsignal in a broad enough beam that a portion of the RF sensing signalfollowed the direct path and a portion of the RF sensing signal followedthe reflected path.

The UE can measure the time of arrival (ToAs) of the RF sensing signals(e.g., the LOS Signal) received directly from the base station and theToAs of the RF sensing signals reflected from the target object (e.g.,the NLOS Signal) to determine the distance, and possibly direction, tothe target object. More specifically, based on the difference betweenthe ToA of the direct path, the ToA of the reflected path, and the speedof light, the UE can determine the distance to the target object. Inaddition, if the UE is capable of receive beamforming, the UE may beable to determine the general direction to the target object as thedirection of the receive beam on which the RF sensing signal followingthe reflected path was received. The UE may then optionally report thisinformation to the transmitting base station, an application serverassociated with the core network, an external client, a third-partyapplication, or some other entity. Alternatively, the UE may report theToA measurements to the base station, or other entity, and the basestation may determine the distance and, optionally, the direction to thetarget object.

Note that if the RF sensing signals are uplink RF signals transmitted bythe UE to the base station, the base station would perform objectdetection based on the uplink RF signals just as the UE does based onthe downlink RF signals.

Referring now to FIG. 4C, the transmitter and the corresponding receiverare again not co-located. In this multistatic radar scenario, however,there are multiple transmitters and multiple receivers. This is thetypical use case for cellular communication-based (e.g., LTE-based,NR-based) RF sensing. Multistatic radar operates much like the operationof bistatic radar described above with reference to FIG. 4B, except thatone transmitter may transmit RF sensing signals to multiple receiversand one receiver may receive RF sensing signals from multipletransmitters.

Possible use cases of multistatic cellular communication-based RFsensing include location detection of device-free objects (i.e., anobject that does not itself transmit wireless signals or does notparticipate in being located). For example, multistatic cellularcommunication-based RF sensing can be used for environment scanning forself-organization networks (SONs). In FIG. 4C, while the base stationsare labeled as transmitters and the UEs are labeled as receivers, anyone of the base stations and the UEs can be configured as a transmitterof a receiver in a multistatic radar scenario.

MIMO radar is a type of radar that transmits mutually orthogonal signalsfrom multiple transmit antennas, and extracts orthogonal waveforms fromeach of the receive antennas. For example, if a MIMO radar system hasthree transmit antennas and four receive antennas, 12 signals can beextracted from the receiver because of the orthogonality of thetransmitted signals. In some examples, based on the configurations ofthe antennas, the MIMO radar system can be configured to exploit thespatial diversity gain of widely separated transmit antennas or receiveantennas, or to exploit the increased radar aperture of co-locatedtransmit antennas or receive antennas. In an aspect, whether twoantennas (both for transmission or both for reception) are widelyseparated or co-located can be determined based on whether theseparation thereof is sufficient to define two distinguishableobservations of a target object with respect to the observation angle,the radar signature of the target object, or both.

FIG. 5A illustrates a MIMO radar system 510 having widely separatedtransmit antennas 522 a and 522 b and widely separated receive antennas526 a and 526 b. MIMO radar system 510 can be configured to operate asanon-coherent MIMO radar system. Transmit antennas 522 a and 522 b cantransmit sensing signals 542 a and 542 b toward a target object 530.Sensing signals 542 a and 542 b may interact with target object 530, andthe reflect signals may radiate from target object 530 because of theinteraction between sensing signals 542 a and 542 b and target object530. A portion of the reflect signals becomes a returning signal 546 areceived by receive antenna 526 a, and another portion of the reflectsignals becomes a returning signal 546 b received by receive antenna 526b. A radar processor (not shown) of MIMO radar system 510 can processthe received returning signals 546 a and 546 b to determine, forexample, a location of target object 530.

FIG. 5B illustrates a MIMO radar system 560 having co-located transmitantennas 572 and co-located receive antennas 574. In someimplementations, transmit antennas 572 and receive antennas 574 can beco-located for sensing based on a monostatic radar scenario. MIMO radarsystem 560 can be configured to operate as a coherent MIMO radar system.Transmit antennas 572 can transmit sensing signals 592 toward a targetobject 580. Sensing signals 592 may interact with target object 580, andthe reflect signals may radiate from target object 580 because of theinteraction between sensing signals 592 and target object 580. A portionof the reflect signals becomes returning signals 594 received by receiveantennas 574. Sensing signals 592 include waveforms that are orthogonalfrom one another. A radar processor (not shown) of MIMO radar system 560can process the received returning signals 574 to extract thecontribution of each transmit antenna by exploiting the orthogonality ofsensing signals 592 and determine, for example, a location of targetobject 580 accordingly.

According to some aspects, the antenna arrangement for MIMO radar system510 better resembles MIMO communications than the antenna arrangementfor MIMO radar system 560. Both MIMO radar system 510 and MIMO radarsystem 560 may harvest the spatial gain of the antennas. Also, MIMOradar system 560 may increase the effective radar aperture at the costof signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

In one aspect, MIMO radar system 510 can be configured for multistaticradar sensing. In one aspect, MIMO radar system 510 can be configured tohave paired transmit antenna and receive antenna for bistatic radarsensing. Moreover, in one aspect, MIMO radar system 560 can beconfigured for bistatic radar sensing or monostatic radar sensing.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example system 600 for wireless communicationusing a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) 610, according toaspects of the disclosure. An RIS (e.g., RIS 610) is a two-dimensionalsurface comprising a large number of low-cost, low-power near-passivereflecting elements whose properties are reconfigurable (e.g., bysoftware or control signals) rather than static. For example, bycarefully tuning the phase shifts of the reflecting elements (e.g.,using software or control signals), the scattering, absorption,reflection, and diffraction properties of an RIS can be changed overtime. In that way, the electromagnetic (EM) properties of an RIS can beengineered to collect wireless signals from a transmitter (e.g., a basestation, a UE, etc.) and passively beamform them towards a targetreceiver (e.g., another base station, another UE, etc.). In the exampleof FIG. 6 , a first base station 602-1 controls the reflectiveproperties of an RIS 610 in order to communicate with a first UE 604-1.

The goal of RIS technology is to create smart radio environments, wherethe wireless propagation conditions are co-engineered with the physicallayer signaling. This enhanced functionality of the system 600 canprovide technical benefits in a number of scenarios.

As a first example scenario, as shown in FIG. 6 , the first base station602-1 (e.g., any of the base station described herein) is attempting totransmit downlink wireless signals to the first UE 604-1 and a second UE604-2 (e.g., any two of the UEs described herein, collectively, UEs 604)on a plurality of downlink transmit beams, labeled “0,” “1,” “2,” and“3.” However, unlike the second UE 604-2, because the first UE 604-1 isbehind an obstacle 620 (e.g., a building, a hill, or another type ofobstacle), it cannot receive the wireless signal on what would otherwisebe the line-of-sight (LOS) beam from the first base station 602-1, thatis, the downlink transmit beam labeled “2.” In this scenario, the firstbase station 602-1 may instead use the downlink transmit beam labeled“1” to transmit the wireless signal to the RIS 610, and configure theRIS 610 to reflect/beamform the incoming wireless signal towards thefirst UE 604-1. The first base station 602-1 can thereby transmit thewireless signal around the obstacle 620.

Note that the first base station 602-1 may also configure the RIS 610for the first UE's 604-1 use in the uplink. In that case, the first basestation 602-1 may configure the RIS 610 to reflect an uplink signal fromthe first UE 604-1 to the first base station 602-1, thereby enabling thefirst UE 604-1 to transmit the uplink signal around the obstacle 620.

As another example scenario in which system 600 can provide a technicaladvantage, the first base station 602-1 may be aware that the obstacle620 may create a “dead zone,” that is, a geographic area in which thedownlink wireless signals from the first base station 602-1 are tooattenuated to be reliably detected by a UE within that area (e.g., thefirst UE 604-1). In this scenario, the first base station 602-1 mayconfigure the RIS 610 to reflect downlink wireless signals into the deadzone in order to provide coverage to UEs that may be located there,including UEs about which the first base station 602-1 is not aware.

An RIS (e.g., RIS 610) may be designed to operate in either a first mode(referred to as “Mode 1”), in which the RIS operates as a reconfigurablemirror, or a second mode (referred to as “Mode 2”), in which the RISoperates as a receiver and transmitter (similar to the amplify andforward functionality of a relay node). Some RIS may be designed to beable to operate in either Mode 1 or Mode 2, while other RIS may bedesigned to operate only in either Mode 1 or Mode 2. Mode 1 RIS areassumed to have a negligible hardware group delay, whereas Mode 2 RIShave a non-negligible hardware group delay due to being equipped withlimited baseband processing capability. Because of their greaterprocessing capability compared to Mode 1 RIS, Mode 2 RIS may, in somecases, be able to compute and report their transmission-to-reception(Tx-Rx) time difference measurements (i.e., the difference between thetime a signal is reflected towards a UE and the time the signal isreceived back from the UE). In the example of FIG. 6 , the RIS 610 maybe either a Mode 1 or Mode 2 RIS.

FIG. 6 also illustrates a second base station 602-2 that may transmitdownlink wireless signals to one or both of the UEs 604. As an example,the first base station 602-1 may be a serving base station for the UEs604 and the second base station 602-2 may be a neighboring base station.The second base station 602-2 may transmit downlink positioningreference signals to one or both of the UEs 604 as part of a positioningprocedure involving the UE(s) 604. Alternatively or additionally, thesecond base station 602-2 may be a secondary cell for one or both of theUEs 604. In some cases, the second base station 602-2 may also be ableto reconfigure the RIS 610, provided it is not being controlled by thefirst base station 602-1 at the time.

Note that while FIG. 6 illustrates one RIS 610 and one base stationcontrolling the RIS 610 (i.e., the first base station 602-1), the firstbase station 602-1 may control multiple RIS 610. In addition, the RIS610 may be controlled by multiple base stations 602 (e.g., both thefirst and second base stations 602-1 and 602-2, and possibly more).

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an example architecture of a RIS 700, accordingto aspects of the disclosure. The RIS 700, which may correspond to RIS610 in FIG. 6 , may be a Mode 1 RIS. As shown in FIG. 7 , the RIS 700primarily consists of a planar surface 710 and a controller 720. Theplanar surface 710 may be constructed of one or more layers of material.In the example of FIG. 7 , the planar surface 710 may consist of threelayers. In this case, the outer layer has a large number of reflectingelements 712 printed on a dielectric substrate to directly act on theincident signals. The middle layer is a copper panel to avoidsignal/energy leakage. The last layer is a circuit board that is usedfor tuning the reflection coefficients of the reflecting elements 712and is operated by the controller 720. The controller 720 may be alow-power processor, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

In a typical operating scenario, the optimal reflection coefficients ofthe RIS 700 is calculated at the base station (e.g., the first basestation 602-1 in FIG. 6 ), and then sent to the controller 720 through adedicated feedback link. The design of the reflection coefficientsdepends on the channel state information (CSI), which is only updatedwhen the CSI changes, which is on a much longer time scale than the datasymbol duration. As such, low-rate information exchange is sufficientfor the dedicated control link, which can be implemented using low-costcopper lines or simple cost-efficient wireless transceivers.

Each reflecting element 712 is coupled to a positive-intrinsic negative(PIN) diode 714. In addition, a biasing line 716 connects eachreflecting element 712 in a column to the controller 720. By controllingthe voltage through the biasing line 716, the PIN diodes 714 can switchbetween ‘on’ and ‘off’ modes. This can realize a phase shift differenceof π (pi) in radians. To increase the number of phase shift levels, morePIN diodes 714 can be coupled to each reflecting element 712. In oneaspect, the reflecting elements 712 can be grouped into subsets ofreflecting elements that are also referred to as sub-panels. Thereflective characteristics of the RIS 700 can be controlled on asub-panel basis, where each sub-panel can be treated as a mini RISco-located with other sub-panels.

An RIS, such as RIS 700, has important advantages for practicalimplementations. For example, the reflecting elements 712 only passivelyreflect the incoming signals without any sophisticated signal processingoperations that would require RF transceiver hardware. As such, comparedto conventional active transmitters, the RIS 700 can operate withseveral orders of magnitude lower cost in terms of hardware and powerconsumption. Additionally, due to the passive nature of the reflectingelements 712, an RIS 700 can be fabricated with light weight and limitedlayer thickness, and as such, can be readily installed on a wall, aceiling, signage, a street lamp, etc. Further, the RIS 700 can operatein full-duplex (FD) mode without self-interference or introducingthermal noise. Therefore, it can achieve higher spectral efficiency thanactive half-duplex (HD) relays, despite their lower signal processingcomplexity than that of active FD relays requiring sophisticatedself-interference cancelation.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method 800 of operating a wireless node,according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, method 800 may beperformed by a wireless node performing a MIMO radar sensing operation(e.g., any of the UEs, base stations, or O-RAN components describedherein). In one aspect, the wireless node may correspond to a UE, suchas V-UEs 106 in FIG. 1 , UE 204 in FIGS. 2A and 2B, and UE 302 in FIG.3A. In one aspect, the wireless node may correspond to a base station,such as BS's 102 in FIG. 1 , NG-RAN 220 in FIGS. 2A and 2B, and basestation 304 in FIG. 3B.

At 810, the wireless node can determine a sub-panel configurationassociated with a reconfigurable intelligence surface (RIS) thatincludes a plurality of sub-panels. In an aspect, operation 810 may beperformed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one or moreshort-range wireless transceivers 320, the one or more processors 332,memory 340, and/or sending component 342 in UE 302, or the one or moreWWAN transceivers 350, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers360, the one or more processors 384, memory 386, and/or sensingcomponent 388 in base station 304, and any or all of which may beconsidered means for performing this operation. In one aspect, the RISmay correspond to RIS 700 in FIG. 7 .

At 820, the the wireless node can transmit or receive one or moresignals via one or more sub-panels of the plurality of sub-panels inaccordance with the sub-panel configuration. In an aspect, operation 820may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one ormore short-range wireless transceivers 320, the one or more processors332, memory 340, and/or sending component 342 in UE 302, or the one ormore WWAN transceivers 350, the one or more short-range wirelesstransceivers 360, the one or more processors 384, memory 386, and/orsensing component 388 in base station 304, and any or all of which maybe considered means for performing this operation.

As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the method 800 isconfigurations for creating orthogonal signals for a MIMO radar sensingoperation using sub-panels of a RIS, such that the MIMO sensing can beenabled or improved without sacrificing the beam forming gain at thewireless node (e.g., a base station or a UE). Also, the sensingsignal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) can be improved bypositioning the RIS closer to the target area.

FIGS. 9 and 10 depict non-limiting examples of implementations based onmethod 800.

FIG. 9 illustrates a MIMO radar system 900 with RIS sub-panels-basedMIMO radar sensing, according to aspects of the disclosure. MIMO radarsystem 900 includes a RIS 910, which may correspond to RIS 700 in FIG. 7and includes a controller (not shown), a plurality of reflectingelements (912, which may correspond to reflecting elements 712 in FIG. 7), and corresponding biasing lines (not shown) and PIN diodes (notshown). Reflecting elements 912 can be grouped into sub-panels 922, 924,926, and 928. Each sub-panel may include one or more reflectingelements, and can be controlled to function as a mini RIS and assignedits own RIS ID or watermark. In other words, RIS 910 can be divided intomultiple sub-panels, which can be considered as multiple co-located miniRIS's. In an aspect, any two of the sub-panels can be non-overlapping orpartially overlapping.

MIMO radar system 900 may include a wireless node 930 and a wirelessnode 940. In an aspect, when MIMO radar system 900 is configured toperform the MIMO radar sensing operation according to a monostatic radarscenario, wireless node 930 can transmit a sensing signals and wirelessnode 930 can receive a returning signal that corresponds to an echoresulting from an interaction between the sensing signal and a targetobject in a target area 950 via RIS 910. In such scenario, wireless node940 can be omitted. In an aspect, when MIMO radar system 900 isconfigured to perform the MIMO radar sensing operation according to amultistatic radar scenario or a bistatic radar scenario, wireless node930 can transmit a sensing signals and wireless node 940 can receive areturning signal that corresponds to an echo resulting from aninteraction between the sensing signal and a target object in targetarea 950. In some implementations, wireless node 930 and wireless node940 can be one UE and one network component, two UEs, or two networkcomponents, where a network component may be a base station, an O-RANcomponent such as RU, DU or CU, etc.

In operation, wireless node 930 can determine a sub-panel configurationassociated with RIS 910 that includes a plurality of sub-panels (e.g.,sub-panels 922, 924, 926, and 928). Wireless node 930 can transmit orreceive one or more signals via one or more sub-panels of the pluralityof sub-panels in accordance with the sub-panel configuration. In oneaspect, wireless node 930 can transmit, via a first sub-panel (e.g.,sub-panel 922) of the plurality of sub-panels, a first sensing signalfor performing a MIMO radar sensing operation to target area 950 basedon the sub-panel configuration. In one aspect, wireless node 930 canfurther transmit, via a second sub-panel (e.g., sub-panel 924) of theplurality of sub-panels, a second sensing signal for performing the MIMOradar sensing operation to target area based 950 on the sub-panelconfiguration. In one aspect, the first sensing signal and the secondsensing signal can be obtained by the sub-panels from a same sourcesensing signal transmitted by wireless node 930. Therefore, by dividingRIS 910 into sub-panels, each sub-panel can define a sensing signalorthogonal to those defined by other sub-panels. Hence, the sub-panelscan be treated as different transmit antennas for a MIMO radar sensingoperation. In some implementations, the first sensing signal can bedistinguishable from the second sensing signal by orthogonality thereofbased on one or more of TDM, FDM, or CDM in accordance with thesub-panel configuration.

In an aspect, the CDM corresponds to individual sub-panels of RIS 910being configured to incorporate different watermarks or orthogonalcomplementary codes embedded in corresponding sensing signals,respectively. In an aspect, the TDM corresponds to wireless node 930transmitting signals toward the individual sub-panels at different timedurations. In another aspect, the TDM corresponds to the sub-panels ofRIS 910 are set to form suitable signal paths between wireless node 930and target area 950 at different time durations. In one implementation,the sub-panels of RIS 910 can be scheduled to be used for the MIMO radarsensing operation closely in time (e.g., back-to-back configuration). Inan aspect, the FDM corresponds to the wireless node transmitting signalstoward the sub-panels of RIS 910 at different frequencies. In someimplementations, orthogonality of the sensing signals can be achieved byadopting individual or any combination of CDM, TDM, and FDM. Forexample, even when TDM or FDM is used to distinguish different sensingsignals, CDM can still be used to differentiate the reflection from theRIS sub-panels and the reflection from the environment.

In some aspects, wireless node 930 or wireless node 940 that receives areturning signal can identify the received returning signal from aspecific reception signal path based on a watermark or an orthogonalcomplementary code associated with a corresponding sub-panel (e.g., thethird sub-panel) embedded in the returning signal. In an aspect,wireless node 930 or wireless node 940 can identify the receivedreturning signal as corresponding to a sensing signal from a specifictransmission signal path based on another watermark or anotherorthogonal complementary code associated with the correspondingsub-panel (e.g., the first sub-panel) embedded in the returning signal.In some implementations, the watermark or the orthogonal complementarycode associated with the sub-panel on the reception path (e.g., thethird sub-panel) includes an indicator indicating that such sub-panel isconfigured to enable a signal path for reception performed by areceiving wireless node; and the other watermark or the other orthogonalcomplementary code associated with the sub-panel on the transmissionpath (e.g., the first sub-panel) includes another indicator indicatingthat such sub-panel is configured to enable a signal path fortransmission performed by a transmitting wireless node.

In some aspects, the RIS sub-panels-based MIMO radar sensing operationperformed based on the sub-panels of RIS 910 can be a coherent MIMOradar sensing operation. In some aspects, a wireless node (i.e.,wireless node 930) for performing the RIS sub-panels-based MIMO radarsensing operation in conjunction with RIS 910 can be a UE or a basestation. In some implementations, the wireless node can be a basestation that controls RIS 910. In some other implementations, thewireless node can be a base station or a UE that receives the sub-panelconfiguration from another base station or a server device that controlsRIS 910. In an aspect, the sub-panel configuration may include RIS IDs,timing, resource, beam coordination, RIS watermark information of thesub-panels of a RIS.

In one aspect, the resulting MIMO radar system can be configured toperform the MIMO radar sensing operation according to a monostatic radarscenario. Wireless node 930 can receive, via one or more sub-panels ofRIS 910, respective returning signals in response to the correspondingsensing signals for performing the MIMO radar sensing operation fromtarget area 950 based on the sub-panel configuration associated with RIS910.

In one aspect, the reflective elements of RIS 910 can be full-duplex,and wireless node 930 can receive, via the first sub-panel, a returningsignal in response to the first sensing signal for performing the MIMOradar sensing operation from target area 950 based on the sub-panelconfiguration.

In one aspect, the reflective elements of RIS 910 can be half-duplex,and wireless node 930 can receive, via a third sub-panel, a returningsignal in response to the first sensing signal for performing the MIMOradar sensing operation from target area 950 based on the sub-panelconfiguration. In some implementations, the first sub-panel and thethird sub-panel can be paired based on the sub-panel configuration,where the first sub-panel can be configured based on the sub-panelconfiguration to enable a signal path for transmission performed bywireless node 930 (e.g., configured as a transmission-specificsub-panel), and the third sub-panel can be configured based on thesub-panel configuration to enable a signal path for reception performedby wireless node 930 (e.g., configured as a reception-specificsub-panel). In some implementations, wireless node 930 may obtain thewatermark of a transmission-specific sub-panel and the watermark of areception-specific sub-panel that is paired with thetransmission-specific sub-panel. As such, wireless node 930 may applydifferent combinations of watermarks to extract orthogonal signals forperforming a MIMO radar sensing operation.

FIG. 10 illustrates a MIMO radar system 100 based on at least onetransmission-specific sub-panel and at least one reception-specificsub-panel, according to aspects of the disclosure. In FIG. 10 , MIMOradar system 100 is configured based on a monostatic radar scenario andincludes a RIS 1010 (which may correspond to any of the RIS's describedherein) and a wireless node 1030 (which may correspond to any of the UEsor the base stations described herein). RIS 1010 can be divided intomultiple sub-panels 1022, 1023, 1024, 1025, 1026, and 1027. In someimplementations, sub-panels 1022, 1024, and 1026 can be configured astransmission-specific sub-panels that enable respective signal paths fortransmission performed by wireless node 1030 for transmitting sensingsignals to a target area 1050. In some implementations, sub-panels 1023,1025, and 1027 can be configured as reception-specific sub-panels thatenable respective signal paths for reception performed by wireless node1030 for receiving returning signals from target area 1050.

In some aspect, any one of transmission-specific sub-panels 1022, 1024,and 1026 may be paired with any one of reception-specific sub-panels1023, 1025, and 1027 to form a respective signal path from wireless node1030 to target area 1050 via the corresponding transmission-specificsub-panel, and then from target area 1050 to wireless node 1030 via thecorresponding reception-specific sub-panel.

The number of sub-panels and the relative positions of the sub-panels inRIS 1010 are depicted in FIG. 10 as a non-limiting example. In someimplementations, the RIS 1010 can have any number transmission-specificsub-panels and reception-specific sub-panels arranged at positionsdifferent from those depicted in FIG. 10 .

In one aspect, MIMO radar system 1000 can detect a target object 1060based on the sensing signal (depicted as solid-line arrows) viasub-panel 1022 and returning signal (depicted as dashed-line arrows) viasub-panel 1023. The location of the target object 1060 can be estimatedbased on the pair of sub-panels 1022 and 1023 by triangulation or byellipsoid-based target location using sub-panels 1022 and 1023 asanchors.

For example, the position of target object 1060 can be determinedaccording to a summation R_(sum) of a first distance R₁ and a seconddistance R₂, R₁ representing a distance between target object 1060 andsub-panel 1022, and R₂ representing a distance between the target object1060 and sub-panel 1023. In one aspect, a reference ellipsoid 1070 canbe defined by using positions of the sub-panel 1022 and third sub-panel1023 as anchors of the reference ellipsoid 1070. The summation R_(sum)of the first distance R₁ and the second distance R₂ can be determinedaccording to an equation of

R _(sum) =R ₁ +R ₂=(T _(Rx) −T _(TxLOS))*c−(L ₁ −L ₂),

where L₁ represents a third distance between wireless node 1030 andsub-panel 1022, L₂ represents a fourth distance between wireless node1030 and sub-panel 1023, c represents a propagation speed ofelectromagnetic waves, T_(TxLOS) represents a first time that wirelessnode 1030 transmits a sensing signal, T_(Rx) represents a second timethat wireless node 1030 receives a returning signal via sub-panel 1023,and the returning signal is an echo resulting from an interactionbetween the sensing signal via sub-panel 1022 and the target object1060. In an aspect, wireless node 1030 may have the informationregarding the position of RIS 1010 and the positions of sub-panels 1022and 1023. Accordingly, the distance L₁ and the distance L₂ can beassumed as known to wireless node 1030. In some implementations,multiple range summations (e.g., R_(sum)) measured through multiplepairs of transmission-specific sub-panel and reception-specificsub-panel can be used to determine the location of target object 1060.

FIG. 11 illustrates another example method 1100 of operating a wirelessnode, according to aspects of the disclosure. In an aspect, method 1100may be performed by a wireless node performing a MIMO radar sensingoperation (e.g., any of the UEs or base stations described herein). Inone aspect, the wireless node may correspond to a UE, such as V-UEs 106in FIG. 1 , UE 204 in FIGS. 2A and 2B, and UE 302 in FIG. 3A. In oneaspect, the wireless node may correspond to a network component (e.g.,base station, O-RAN component such as RU, DU or CU, etc.), such as BS's102 in FIG. 1 , NG-RAN 220 in FIGS. 2A and 2B, and base station 304 inFIG. 3B.

At 1110, the wireless node can determine a first configurationassociated with a first group of reconfigurable intelligence surfaces(RIS's), each RIS of the first group of RIS's being configured based onthe first configuration for enabling a respective signal path from thewireless node toward a first target area. In an aspect, operation 1110may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers 310, the one ormore short-range wireless transceivers 320, the one or more processors332, memory 340, and/or sending component 342 in UE 302, or the one ormore WWAN transceivers 350, the one or more short-range wirelesstransceivers 360, the one or more processors 384, memory 386, and/orsensing component 388 in base station 304, and any or all of which maybe considered means for performing this operation. In one aspect, eachone of the RIS's may correspond to RIS 700 in FIG. 7 .

At 1120, the the wireless node can transmit or receive a first pluralityof signals, to or from the first target area, via the first group ofRIS's in accordance with the first configuration. In an aspect,operation 1120 may be performed by the one or more WWAN transceivers310, the one or more short-range wireless transceivers 320, the one ormore processors 332, memory 340, and/or sending component 342 in UE 302,or the one or more WWAN transceivers 350, the one or more short-rangewireless transceivers 360, the one or more processors 384, memory 386,and/or sensing component 388 in base station 304, and any or all ofwhich may be considered means for performing this operation.

As will be appreciated, a technical advantage of the method 1100 isconfigurations for creating orthogonal signals for a MIMO radar sensingoperation using a group of RIS's, such that the MIMO sensing can beenabled or improved without sacrificing the beam forming gain at thewireless node (e.g., a base station or a UE). The SINR can be improvedby positioning the RIS closer to the target area. Also, multiple RIS'scould enable spatial diversity gain to combat the radar cross section(RCS) fading and further enhance the sensing performance.

FIGS. 12A and 12B depict non-limiting examples of implementations basedon method 1100.

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate a MIMO radar system 1200 with RIS groupingfor MIMO radar sensing, according to aspects of the disclosure. FIG. 12Ashows MIMO radar system 1200 in time period T1. MIMO radar system 1200includes a wireless node 1210 (e.g., a base station or an eNB) and aplurality of RIS's 1221, 1222, 1223, 1224, 1225, 1226, and 1227. In timeperiod T1, RIS's 1221, 1222, and 1223 can be configured to form a groupof RIS's 1232, where RIS's 1221, 1222, and 1223 in group 1232 areconfigured to receive signals from wireless node 1210 via a beam 1242and redirect the signals from the wireless node 1210 to a target area1262 via beams 1252 formed by RIS's 1221, 1222, and 1223, respectively.The signals redirected by RIS's 1221, 1222, and 1223 toward target area1262 can be used as sensing signals for performing a MIMO radar sensingoperation on target area 1262. Also, in time period T1, RIS's 1225,1226, and 1227 can be configured to form a group of RIS's 1234, whereRIS's 1225, 1226, and 1227 in group 1234 are configured to receivesignals from wireless node 1210 via a beam 1244 and redirect the signalsfrom wireless node 1210 to a target area 1264 via beams 1254 formed byRIS's the RIS's 1225, 1226, and 1227, respectively. The signalsredirected by RIS's 1225, 1226, and 1227 toward target area 1264 can beused as sensing signals for performing a MIMO radar sensing operation ontarget area 1264.

In an aspect, MIMO radar system 1200 can be configured to perform theMIMO radar sensing operation according to a multistatic radar scenarioor a bistatic radar scenario. Accordingly, a returning signal thatcorresponds to an echo resulting from an interaction between the sensingsignals via group 1232 and a target object in target area 1262 can bereceived by a radar signal receiver, such as another wireless node 1270(e.g., a UE) depicted in FIG. 12A. Similarly, a returning signal thatcorresponds to an echo resulting from an interaction between the sensingsignals via group 1234 and a target object in target area 1264 can bereceived by wireless node 1270.

In an aspect, the MIMO radar system 1200 can be configured to performthe MIMO radar sensing operation according to a monostatic radarscenario. Accordingly, a returning signal that corresponds to an echoresulting from an interaction between the sensing signals via group 1232and a target object in target area 1262 can be received by wireless node1210 along a returning path via beams 1252, group of RIS's 1221, 1222,and 1223, and beam 1242. Similarly, a returning signal that correspondsto an echo resulting from an interaction between the sensing signals viagroup 1234 and a target object in target area 1264 can be received bywireless node 1210 along a returning path via beams 1254, group of RIS's1225, 1226, and 1227, and beam 1244.

In operation, wireless node 1210 can determine a first configurationassociated with a first group of RIS's (e.g., group 1232 that includesRIS's 1221, 1222, and 1223). Each RIS of the first group can beconfigured based on the first configuration for enabling a respectivesignal path from wireless node 1210 toward a first target area (e.g.,target area 1262). Wireless node 1210 can transmit or receive a firstplurality of signals, to or from the target area, via the first group ofRIS's in accordance with the first configuration associated with thefirst group of RIS's. In an aspect, wireless node 1210 can determine asecond configuration associated with a second group of RIS's (e.g.,group 1234 that includes RIS's 1225, 1226, and 1227). Each RIS of thesecond group can be configured based on the second configuration forenabling a respective signal path from wireless node 1210 toward asecond target area (e.g., target area 1264). Wireless node 1210 cantransmit or receive a second plurality of signals, to or from the secondtarget area, via the second group of RIS's in accordance with the secondconfiguration associated with the second group of RIS's. In an aspect,the first group of RIS's is different from the second group of RIS's,while in some implementations the first group of RIS's and the secondgroup of RIS's can overlap. In an aspect, the first target area isdifferent from the second target area, while in some implementations thefirst group of RIS's and the second group of RIS's can overlap.

In an aspect, wireless node 1210 can transmit, via each RIS of the firstgroup of RIS's, a respective sensing signal for performing amultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar sensing operation to thefirst target area based on the first configuration. In someimplementations, the first group of RIS's can be configured to redirectrespective sensing signals toward the first target area, and the sensingsignals are distinguishable from one another by orthogonality thereofbased on one or more of Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM),Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), or Code-Division Multiplexing(CDM) in accordance with the first configuration.

In an aspect, the CDM corresponds to individual RIS's of the first groupof RIS's being configured to incorporate different watermarks ororthogonal complementary codes embedded in corresponding signals,respectively. In an aspect, the TDM corresponds to wireless node 1210transmitting signals toward the individual RIS's of the first group ofRIS's at different time durations. In another aspect, the TDMcorresponds to the individual RIS's of the first group of RIS's are setto form suitable signal paths between wireless node 1210 and target area1262 at different time durations. In one implementation, the RIS's ofthe first group of RIS's can be scheduled to be used for the MIMO radarsensing operation closely in time (e.g., back-to-back configuration). Inan aspect, the FDM corresponds to wireless node 1210 transmittingsignals toward the individual RIS's of the first group of RIS's atdifferent frequencies. In some implementations, orthogonality of thesensing signals can be achieved by adopting individual or anycombination of CDM, TDM, and FDM. For example, even when TDM or FDM isused to distinguish different sensing signals, CDM can still be used todifferentiate the reflection from the RIS's and the reflection from theenvironment.

In one aspect, wireless node 1210 can receive, via each RIS of the firstgroup of RIS's, a respective returning signal in response to therespective sensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensingoperation from the first target area based on the first configuration.In such case, MIMO radar system 1200 is configured to perform the MIMOradar sensing operation according to a monostatic radar scenario. In oneaspect, wireless node 1270 can receive, via each RIS of the first groupof RIS's, a respective returning signal in response to the respectivesensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensing operation from thefirst target area based on the first configuration. In such case, theMIMO radar system 1200 is configured to perform the MIMO radar sensingoperation according to a multistatic radar scenario or a bistatic radarscenario.

The operations based on the first group of RIS's 1232 were presentedabove as non-limiting examples. In some implementations, the secondgroup of RIS's 1234 can be configured to perform a MIMO radar sensingoperation on second target area 1264 in a manner similar to one or moreexamples described above with respect to the first group of RIS's 1232.

In one aspect, wireless node 1210 can transmit the first configurationassociated with the first group of RIS's 1232 to at least wireless node1270 that is configured to receive, via each RIS of the first group ofRIS's 1232, a respective returning signal in response to the respectivesensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensing operation fromtarget area 1262 based on the first configuration. In one aspect,wireless node 1210 can transmit the second configuration associated withthe second group of RIS's 1234 to at least wireless node 1270 that isconfigured to receive, via each RIS of the second group of RIS's 1234, arespective returning signal in response to the respective sensing signalfor performing the MIMO radar sensing operation from second target area1264 based on the second configuration. The first configuration and thesecond configuration may include RIS IDs, timing, resource, beamcoordination, RIS watermark information of the RIS's of a group. In someimplementations, wireless node 1270 can process the received returningsignals and forwarding the processing result to wireless node 1210. Insome implementations, wireless node 1270 can simply forward the receivedreturning signals to wireless node 1210 for processing based on theconfiguration information of the RIS group(s).

Moreover, FIG. 12B shows MIMO radar system 1200 in time period T2. Asshown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the grouping of the RIS's can be arranged inan adaptive manner. For example, the grouping of the RIS's in timeperiod T2 can be different from that in time period T1, and differentgroups may be for different target areas.

As shown in FIG. 12B, in time period T2, RIS's 1221 and 1222 can beconfigured to form a group of RIS's 1231, where RIS's 1221 and 1222 ingroup 1231 are configured to receive signals from wireless node 1210 viaa beam 1241 and redirect the signals from wireless node 1210 to a targetarea 1261 via beams 1251 formed by RIS's 1221 and 1222, respectively.The signals redirected by RIS's 1221 and 1222 toward target area 1261can be used as sensing signals for performing a MIMO radar sensingoperation on target area 1261. Similarly, in time period T2, RIS's 1223,1224, and 1225 can be configured to form a group of RIS's 1233 to formsignal paths between wireless node 1210 and a target area 1263 via abeam 1243 and beams 1253, and RIS's 1226 and 1227 can be configured toform a group of RIS's 1235 to form signal paths between wireless node1210 and a target area 1265 via a beam 1245 and beams 1255.

In some implementations, beams 1241, 1243, and 1245 can be differentfrom beams 1242 and 1244. In some implementations, target areas 1261,1263, and 1265 can be different from target areas 1262 and 1264. In oneaspect, wireless node 1210 can determine the grouping of RIS's andcorresponding target areas in time period T2 based on the radar sensingresults obtained in time period T1. In one aspect, MIMO radar system1200 in time period T2 can be operated in a manner similar to MIMO radarsystem 1200 in time period T1 as described above.

In some aspects, the MIMO radar sensing operation performed by MIMOradar system 1200 can be a non-coherent MIMO radar sensing operation ora coherent MIMO radar sensing operation. In some aspects, the MIMO radarsensing operation performed by MIMO radar system 1200 can be based on amultistatic radar scenario or a bistatic radar scenario, and wirelessnode 1210 and wireless node 1270 can be one UE and one base station, twoUEs, or two base stations. In at least one aspect, the MIMO radarsensing operation performed by MIMO radar system 1200 can be based on amonostatic radar scenario, wireless node 1270 may be omitted, andwireless node 1210 can be a UE or a base station.

In the detailed description above it can be seen that different featuresare grouped together in examples. This manner of disclosure should notbe understood as an intention that the example clauses have morefeatures than are explicitly mentioned in each clause. Rather, thevarious aspects of the disclosure may include fewer than all features ofan individual example clause disclosed. Therefore, the following clausesshould hereby be deemed to be incorporated in the description, whereineach clause by itself can stand as a separate example. Although eachdependent clause can refer in the clauses to a specific combination withone of the other clauses, the aspect(s) of that dependent clause are notlimited to the specific combination. It will be appreciated that otherexample clauses can also include a combination of the dependent clauseaspect(s) with the subject matter of any other dependent clause orindependent clause or a combination of any feature with other dependentand independent clauses. The various aspects disclosed herein expresslyinclude these combinations, unless it is explicitly expressed or can bereadily inferred that a specific combination is not intended (e.g.,contradictory aspects, such as defining an element as both an electricalinsulator and an electrical conductor). Furthermore, it is also intendedthat aspects of a clause can be included in any other independentclause, even if the clause is not directly dependent on the independentclause.

Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

Clause 1. A method of operating a wireless node, comprising: determininga sub-panel configuration associated with a reconfigurable intelligencesurface (RIS) that includes a plurality of sub-panels; and transmittingor receiving one or more signals via one or more sub-panels of theplurality of sub-panels in accordance with the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the transmitting or receivingthe one or more signals comprises: transmitting, via a first sub-panelof the plurality of sub-panels, a first sensing signal for performing amultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar sensing operation to atarget area based on the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein the transmitting or receivingthe one or more signals comprises: transmitting, via a second sub-panelof the plurality of sub-panels, a second sensing signal for performingthe MIMO radar sensing operation to the target area based on thesub-panel configuration.

Clause 4. The method of clause 3, wherein the first sensing signal isdistinguishable from the second sensing signal by orthogonality thereofbased on one or more of Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM),Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), or Code-Division Multiplexing(CDM) in accordance with the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 5. The method of clause 4, wherein the CDM corresponds to thefirst sub-panel and the second sub-panel configured to incorporatedifferent watermarks or orthogonal complementary codes embedded in thefirst sensing signal and the second sensing signal, respectively.

Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein the first sensing signal andthe second sensing signal are obtained from a same source sensing signaltransmitted by the wireless node.

Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 2 to 6, wherein the transmittingor receiving the one or more signals comprises: receiving, via the firstsub-panel, a returning signal in response to the first sensing signalfor performing the MIMO radar sensing operation from the target areabased on the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 2 to 6, wherein the transmittingor receiving the one or more signals comprises: receiving, via a thirdsub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, a returning signal in responseto the first sensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensingoperation from the target area based on the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 9. The method of clause 8, wherein: the first sub-panel and thethird sub-panel are paired based on the sub-panel configuration, thefirst sub-panel is configured based on the sub-panel configuration toenable a signal path for transmission performed by the wireless node,and the third sub-panel is configured based on the sub-panelconfiguration to enable a signal path for reception performed by thewireless node.

Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 8 to 9, further comprising:identifying the received returning signal based on a watermark or anorthogonal complementary code associated with the third sub-panelembedded in the returning signal.

Clause 11. The method of clause 10, further comprising: identifying thereceived returning signal based on one other watermark or one otherorthogonal complementary code associated with the first sub-panelembedded in the returning signal.

Clause 12. The method of clause 11, wherein: the watermark or theorthogonal complementary code associated with the third sub-panelincludes an indicator indicating that the third sub-panel is configuredto enable a signal path for reception performed by the wireless node,and the other watermark or the other orthogonal complementary codeassociated with the first sub-panel includes one other indicatorindicating that the first sub-panel is configured to enable a signalpath for transmission performed by the wireless node.

Clause 13. The method of any of clauses 8 to 12, wherein: the returningsignal corresponds to an echo resulting from an interaction between thefirst sensing signal and a target object, and the method furthercomprises determining a position of the target object according to areference ellipsoid defined by using positions of the first sub-paneland the third sub-panel as anchors of the reference ellipsoid.

Clause 14. The method of clause 13, further comprising: determining asummation R_(sum) of a first distance R₁ and a second distance R₂according to an equation of R_(sum)=R₁+R₂=(T_(Rx)-T_(TxLOS))*c−(L₁−L₂),R₁ representing the first distance between the target object and thefirst sub-panel, R₂ representing the second distance between the targetobject and the third sub-panel, L₁ representing a third distance betweenthe wireless node and the first sub-panel, L₂ representing a fourthdistance between the wireless node and the third sub-panel, crepresenting a propagation speed of electromagnetic waves, T_(TxLOS)representing a first time that the wireless node transmits the firstsensing signal, and T_(Rx) representing a second time that the wirelessnode receives the returning signal; and determining the position of thetarget object according to the summation R_(sum) of the first distanceR₁ and the second distance R₂.

Clause 15. The method of any of clauses 7 to 14, wherein: the MIMO radarsensing operation is a coherent MIMO radar sensing operation, and thewireless node is a user equipment (UE) or a base station.

Clause 16. A method of operating a wireless node, comprising:determining a first configuration associated with a first group ofreconfigurable intelligence surfaces (RIS's), each RIS of the firstgroup of RIS's being configured based on the first configuration forenabling a respective signal path from the wireless node toward a firsttarget area; and transmitting or receiving a first plurality of signals,to or from the first target area, via the first group of RIS's inaccordance with the first configuration.

Clause 17. The method of clause 16, further comprising: determining asecond configuration associated with a second group of RIS's, each RISof the second group of RIS's being configured based on the secondconfiguration for enabling a respective signal path from the wirelessnode toward a second target area; and transmitting or receiving a secondplurality of signals, to or from the second target area, via the secondgroup of RIS's in accordance with the second configuration, wherein: thefirst group of RIS's is different from the second group of RIS's, andthe first target area is different from the second target area.

Clause 18. The method of any of clauses 16 to 17, wherein the firstgroup of RIS's is configured to redirect sensing signals toward thefirst target area, and the sensing signals are distinguishable from oneanother by orthogonality thereof based on one or more of Time-DivisionMultiplexing (TDM), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), orCode-Division Multiplexing (CDM) in accordance with the firstconfiguration.

Clause 19. The method of clause 18, wherein the CDM corresponds toindividual RIS's of the first group of RIS's being configured toincorporate different watermarks or orthogonal complementary codesembedded in corresponding signals, respectively.

Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 16 to 19, wherein thetransmitting or receiving the first plurality of signals comprises:transmitting, via each RIS of the first group of RIS's, a respectivesensing signal for performing a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)radar sensing operation to the first target area based on the firstconfiguration.

Clause 21. The method of clause 20, wherein the transmitting orreceiving the first plurality of signals comprises: receiving, via eachRIS of the first group of RIS's, a respective returning signal inresponse to the respective sensing signal for performing the MIMO radarsensing operation from the first target area based on the firstconfiguration.

Clause 22. The method of any of clauses 20 to 21, further comprising:transmitting, by the wireless node to at least one other wireless node,the first configuration associated with the first group of RIS's, the atleast one other wireless node being configured to receive, via each RISof the first group of RIS's, a respective returning signal in responseto the respective sensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensingoperation from the first target area based on the first configuration.

Clause 23. The method of clause 22, wherein: the MIMO radar sensingoperation is a non-coherent MIMO radar sensing operation, and thewireless node and the at least one other wireless node are one userequipment (UE) and one base station, two UEs, or two base stations.

Clause 24. A wireless node, comprising: a memory; at least onetransceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thememory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processorconfigured to: determine a sub-panel configuration associated with areconfigurable intelligence surface (RIS) that includes a plurality ofsub-panels; and transmit or receive, via the at least one transceiver,one or more signals via one or more sub-panels of the plurality ofsub-panels in accordance with the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 25. The wireless node of clause 24, wherein the at least oneprocessor is configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiverand via a first sub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, a firstsensing signal for performing a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)radar sensing operation to a target area based on the sub-panelconfiguration.

Clause 26. The wireless node of clause 25, wherein the at least oneprocessor is configured to: transmit, via the at least one transceiverand via a second sub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, a secondsensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensing operation to thetarget area based on the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 27. The wireless node of clause 26, wherein the first sensingsignal is distinguishable from the second sensing signal byorthogonality thereof based on one or more of Time-Division Multiplexing(TDM), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), or Code-DivisionMultiplexing (CDM) in accordance with the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 28. The wireless node of clause 27, wherein the CDM correspondsto the first sub-panel and the second sub-panel configured toincorporate different watermarks or orthogonal complementary codesembedded in the first sensing signal and the second sensing signal,respectively.

Clause 29. The wireless node of clause 28, wherein the first sensingsignal and the second sensing signal are obtained from a same sourcesensing signal transmitted by the wireless node.

Clause 30. The wireless node of any of clauses 25 to 29, wherein the atleast one processor is configured to: receive, via the at least onetransceiver and via the first sub-panel, a returning signal in responseto the first sensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensingoperation from the target area based on the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 31. The wireless node of any of clauses 25 to 29, wherein the atleast one processor is configured to: receive, via the at least onetransceiver and via a third sub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, areturning signal in response to the first sensing signal for performingthe MIMO radar sensing operation from the target area based on thesub-panel configuration.

Clause 32. The wireless node of clause 31, wherein: the first sub-paneland the third sub-panel are paired based on the sub-panel configuration,the first sub-panel is configured based on the sub-panel configurationto enable a signal path for transmission performed by the wireless node,and the third sub-panel is configured based on the sub-panelconfiguration to enable a signal path for reception performed by thewireless node.

Clause 33. The wireless node of any of clauses 31 to 32, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to: identify the receivedreturning signal based on a watermark or an orthogonal complementarycode associated with the third sub-panel embedded in the returningsignal.

Clause 34. The wireless node of clause 33, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: identify the received returningsignal based on one other watermark or one other orthogonalcomplementary code associated with the first sub-panel embedded in thereturning signal.

Clause 35. The wireless node of clause 34, wherein: the watermark or theorthogonal complementary code associated with the third sub-panelincludes an indicator indicating that the third sub-panel is configuredto enable a signal path for reception performed by the wireless node,and the other watermark or the other orthogonal complementary codeassociated with the first sub-panel includes one other indicatorindicating that the first sub-panel is configured to enable a signalpath for transmission performed by the wireless node.

Clause 36. The wireless node of any of clauses 31 to 35, wherein: thereturning signal corresponds to an echo resulting from an interactionbetween the first sensing signal and a target object, and the at leastone processor is configured to determine a position of the target objectaccording to a reference ellipsoid defined by using positions of thefirst sub-panel and the third sub-panel as anchors of the referenceellipsoid.

Clause 37. The wireless node of clause 36, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: determine a summation R_(sum) of afirst distance R₁ and a second distance R₂ according to an equation ofR_(sum)=R₁+R₂=(T_(Rx)−T_(TxLOS))*c−(L₁−L₂), R₁ representing the firstdistance between the target object and the first sub-panel, R₂representing the second distance between the target object and the thirdsub-panel, L₁ representing a third distance between the wireless nodeand the first sub-panel, L₂ representing a fourth distance between thewireless node and the third sub-panel, c representing a propagationspeed of electromagnetic waves, T_(TxLOS) representing a first time thatthe wireless node transmits the first sensing signal, and T_(Rx)representing a second time that the wireless node receives the returningsignal; and determine the position of the target object according to thesummation R_(sum) of the first distance R₁ and the second distance R₂.

Clause 38. The wireless node of any of clauses 30 to 37, wherein: theMIMO radar sensing operation is a coherent MIMO radar sensing operation,and the wireless node is a user equipment (UE) or a base station.

Clause 39. A wireless node, comprising: a memory; at least onetransceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thememory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processorconfigured to: determine a first configuration associated with a firstgroup of reconfigurable intelligence surfaces (RIS's), each RIS of thefirst group of RIS's being configured based on the first configurationfor enabling a respective signal path from the wireless node toward afirst target area; and transmit or receive, via the at least onetransceiver, a first plurality of signals, to or from the first targetarea, via the first group of RIS's in accordance with the firstconfiguration.

Clause 40. The wireless node of clause 39, wherein the at least oneprocessor is further configured to: determine a second configurationassociated with a second group of RIS's, each RIS of the second group ofRIS's being configured based on the second configuration for enabling arespective signal path from the wireless node toward a second targetarea; and transmit or receive, via the at least one transceiver, asecond plurality of signals, to or from the second target area, via thesecond group of RIS's in accordance with the second configuration,wherein: the first group of RIS's is different from the second group ofRIS's, and the first target area is different from the second targetarea.

Clause 41. The wireless node of any of clauses 39 to 40, wherein thefirst group of RIS's is configured to redirect sensing signals towardthe first target area, and the sensing signals are distinguishable fromone another by orthogonality thereof based on one or more ofTime-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM),or Code-Division Multiplexing (CDM) in accordance with the firstconfiguration.

Clause 42. The wireless node of clause 41, wherein the CDM correspondsto individual RIS's of the first group of RIS's being configured toincorporate different watermarks or orthogonal complementary codesembedded in corresponding signals, respectively.

Clause 43. The wireless node of any of clauses 39 to 42, wherein the atleast one processor is configured to: transmit, via the at least onetransceiver and via each RIS of the first group of RIS's, a respectivesensing signal for performing a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)radar sensing operation to the first target area based on the firstconfiguration.

Clause 44. The wireless node of clause 43, wherein the at least oneprocessor is configured to: receive, via the at least one transceiverand via each RIS of the first group of RIS's, a respective returningsignal in response to the respective sensing signal for performing theMIMO radar sensing operation from the first target area based on thefirst configuration.

Clause 45. The wireless node of any of clauses 43 to 44, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to: transmit, via the at leastone transceiver, the first configuration associated with the first groupof RIS's, the at least one other wireless node being configured toreceive, via each RIS of the first group of RIS's, a respectivereturning signal in response to the respective sensing signal forperforming the MIMO radar sensing operation from the first target areabased on the first configuration.

Clause 46. The wireless node of clause 45, wherein: the MIMO radarsensing operation is a non-coherent MIMO radar sensing operation, andthe wireless node and the at least one other wireless node are one userequipment (UE) and one base station, two UEs, or two base stations.

Clause 47. A wireless node, comprising: means for determining asub-panel configuration associated with a reconfigurable intelligencesurface (RIS) that includes a plurality of sub-panels; and means fortransmitting or receiving one or more signals via one or more sub-panelsof the plurality of sub-panels in accordance with the sub-panelconfiguration.

Clause 48. The wireless node of clause 47, wherein the means fortransmitting or receiving the one or more signals comprises: means fortransmitting, via a first sub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, afirst sensing signal for performing a multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) radar sensing operation to a target area based on the sub-panelconfiguration.

Clause 49. The wireless node of clause 48, wherein the means fortransmitting or receiving the one or more signals comprises: means fortransmitting, via a second sub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, asecond sensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensing operation tothe target area based on the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 50. The wireless node of clause 49, wherein the first sensingsignal is distinguishable from the second sensing signal byorthogonality thereof based on one or more of Time-Division Multiplexing(TDM), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), or Code-DivisionMultiplexing (CDM) in accordance with the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 51. The wireless node of clause 50, wherein the CDM correspondsto the first sub-panel and the second sub-panel configured toincorporate different watermarks or orthogonal complementary codesembedded in the first sensing signal and the second sensing signal,respectively.

Clause 52. The wireless node of clause 51, wherein the first sensingsignal and the second sensing signal are obtained from a same sourcesensing signal transmitted by the wireless node.

Clause 53. The wireless node of any of clauses 48 to 52, wherein themeans for transmitting or receiving the one or more signals comprises:means for receiving, via the first sub-panel, a returning signal inresponse to the first sensing signal for performing the MIMO radarsensing operation from the target area based on the sub-panelconfiguration.

Clause 54. The wireless node of any of clauses 48 to 52, wherein themeans for transmitting or receiving the one or more signals comprises:means for receiving, via a third sub-panel of the plurality ofsub-panels, a returning signal in response to the first sensing signalfor performing the MIMO radar sensing operation from the target areabased on the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 55. The wireless node of clause 54, wherein: the first sub-paneland the third sub-panel are paired based on the sub-panel configuration,the first sub-panel is configured based on the sub-panel configurationto enable a signal path for transmission performed by the wireless node,and the third sub-panel is configured based on the sub-panelconfiguration to enable a signal path for reception performed by thewireless node.

Clause 56. The wireless node of any of clauses 43 to 55, furthercomprising: means for identifying the received returning signal based ona watermark or an orthogonal complementary code associated with thethird sub-panel embedded in the returning signal.

Clause 57. The wireless node of clause 56, further comprising: means foridentifying the received returning signal based on one other watermarkor one other orthogonal complementary code associated with the firstsub-panel embedded in the returning signal.

Clause 58. The wireless node of clause 57, wherein: the watermark or theorthogonal complementary code associated with the third sub-panelincludes an indicator indicating that the third sub-panel is configuredto enable a signal path for reception performed by the wireless node,and the other watermark or the other orthogonal complementary codeassociated with the first sub-panel includes one other indicatorindicating that the first sub-panel is configured to enable a signalpath for transmission performed by the wireless node.

Clause 59. The wireless node of any of clauses 54 to 58, wherein: thereturning signal corresponds to an echo resulting from an interactionbetween the first sensing signal and a target object, and the wirelessnode further comprises means for determining a position of the targetobject according to a reference ellipsoid defined by using positions ofthe first sub-panel and the third sub-panel as anchors of the referenceellipsoid.

Clause 60. The wireless node of clause 59, further comprising: means fordetermining a summation R_(sum) of a first distance R₁ and a seconddistance R₂ according to an equation ofR_(sum)=R₁+R₂=(T_(Rx)−T_(TxLOS))*c−(L₁−L₂), R₁ representing the firstdistance between the target object and the first sub-panel, R₂representing the second distance between the target object and the thirdsub-panel, L₁ representing a third distance between the wireless nodeand the first sub-panel, L₂ representing a fourth distance between thewireless node and the third sub-panel, c representing a propagationspeed of electromagnetic waves, T_(TxLOS) representing a first time thatthe wireless node transmits the first sensing signal, and T_(Rx)representing a second time that the wireless node receives the returningsignal; and means for determining the position of the target objectaccording to the summation R_(sum) of the first distance R₁ and thesecond distance R₂.

Clause 61. The wireless node of any of clauses 53 to 60, wherein: theMIMO radar sensing operation is a coherent MIMO radar sensing operation,and the wireless node is a user equipment (UE) or a base station.

Clause 62. A wireless node, comprising: means for determining a firstconfiguration associated with a first group of reconfigurableintelligence surfaces (RIS's), each RIS of the first group of RIS'sbeing configured based on the first configuration for enabling arespective signal path from the wireless node toward a first targetarea; and means for transmitting or receiving a first plurality ofsignals, to or from the first target area, via the first group of RIS'sin accordance with the first configuration.

Clause 63. The wireless node of clause 62, further comprising: means fordetermining a second configuration associated with a second group ofRIS's, each RIS of the second group of RIS's being configured based onthe second configuration for enabling a respective signal path from thewireless node toward a second target area; and means for transmitting orreceiving a second plurality of signals, to or from the second targetarea, via the second group of RIS's in accordance with the secondconfiguration, wherein: the first group of RIS's is different from thesecond group of RIS's, and the first target area is different from thesecond target area.

Clause 64. The wireless node of any of clauses 62 to 63, wherein thefirst group of RIS's is configured to redirect sensing signals towardthe first target area, and the sensing signals are distinguishable fromone another by orthogonality thereof based on one or more ofTime-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM),or Code-Division Multiplexing (CDM) in accordance with the firstconfiguration.

Clause 65. The wireless node of clause 64, wherein the CDM correspondsto individual RIS's of the first group of RIS's being configured toincorporate different watermarks or orthogonal complementary codesembedded in corresponding signals, respectively.

Clause 66. The wireless node of any of clauses 62 to 65, wherein themeans for transmitting or receiving the first plurality of signalscomprises: means for transmitting, via each RIS of the first group ofRIS's, a respective sensing signal for performing a multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) radar sensing operation to the first target areabased on the first configuration.

Clause 67. The wireless node of clause 66, wherein the means fortransmitting or receiving the first plurality of signals comprises:means for receiving, via each RIS of the first group of RIS's, arespective returning signal in response to the respective sensing signalfor performing the MIMO radar sensing operation from the first targetarea based on the first configuration.

Clause 68. The wireless node of any of clauses 66 to 67, furthercomprising: means for transmitting the first configuration associatedwith the first group of RIS's, the at least one other wireless nodebeing configured to receive, via each RIS of the first group of RIS's, arespective returning signal in response to the respective sensing signalfor performing the MIMO radar sensing operation from the first targetarea based on the first configuration.

Clause 69. The wireless node of clause 68, wherein: the MIMO radarsensing operation is a non-coherent MIMO radar sensing operation, andthe wireless node and the at least one other wireless node are one userequipment (UE) and one base station, two UEs, or two base stations.

Clause 70. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node,cause the wireless node to: determine a sub-panel configurationassociated with a reconfigurable intelligence surface (RIS) thatincludes a plurality of sub-panels; and transmit or receive one or moresignals via one or more sub-panels of the plurality of sub-panels inaccordance with the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 71. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 70,wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by thewireless node, cause the wireless node to: transmit, via a firstsub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, a first sensing signal forperforming a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar sensingoperation to a target area based on the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 72. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 71,wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by thewireless node, cause the wireless node to: transmit, via a secondsub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, a second sensing signal forperforming the MIMO radar sensing operation to the target area based onthe sub-panel configuration.

Clause 73. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 72,wherein the first sensing signal is distinguishable from the secondsensing signal by orthogonality thereof based on one or more ofTime-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM),or Code-Division Multiplexing (CDM) in accordance with the sub-panelconfiguration.

Clause 74. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 73,wherein the CDM corresponds to the first sub-panel and the secondsub-panel configured to incorporate different watermarks or orthogonalcomplementary codes embedded in the first sensing signal and the secondsensing signal, respectively.

Clause 75. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 74,wherein the first sensing signal and the second sensing signal areobtained from a same source sensing signal transmitted by the wirelessnode.

Clause 76. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses71 to 75, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the wireless node, cause the wireless node to: receive, viathe first sub-panel, a returning signal in response to the first sensingsignal for performing the MIMO radar sensing operation from the targetarea based on the sub-panel configuration.

Clause 77. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses71 to 75, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the wireless node, cause the wireless node to: receive, viaa third sub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, a returning signal inresponse to the first sensing signal for performing the MIMO radarsensing operation from the target area based on the sub-panelconfiguration.

Clause 78. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 77,wherein: the first sub-panel and the third sub-panel are paired based onthe sub-panel configuration, the first sub-panel is configured based onthe sub-panel configuration to enable a signal path for transmissionperformed by the wireless node, and the third sub-panel is configuredbased on the sub-panel configuration to enable a signal path forreception performed by the wireless node.

Clause 79. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses77 to 78, wherein the computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the wireless node, cause the wireless node to: identify thereceived returning signal based on a watermark or an orthogonalcomplementary code associated with the third sub-panel embedded in thereturning signal.

Clause 80. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 79,wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by thewireless node, cause the wireless node to: identify the receivedreturning signal based on one other watermark or one other orthogonalcomplementary code associated with the first sub-panel embedded in thereturning signal.

Clause 81. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 80,wherein: the watermark or the orthogonal complementary code associatedwith the third sub-panel includes an indicator indicating that the thirdsub-panel is configured to enable a signal path for reception performedby the wireless node, and the other watermark or the other orthogonalcomplementary code associated with the first sub-panel includes oneother indicator indicating that the first sub-panel is configured toenable a signal path for transmission performed by the wireless node.

Clause 82. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses77 to 81, wherein: the returning signal corresponds to an echo resultingfrom an interaction between the first sensing signal and a targetobject, and the computer-executable instructions that, when executed bythe wireless node, cause the wireless node to determine a position ofthe target object according to a reference ellipsoid defined by usingpositions of the first sub-panel and the third sub-panel as anchors ofthe reference ellipsoid.

Clause 83. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 82,wherein the computer-executable instructions that, when executed by thewireless node, cause the wireless node to: determine a summation R_(sum)of a first distance R₁ and a second distance R₂ according to an equationof R_(sum)=R₁+R₂=(T_(Rx)−T_(TxLOS))*c−(L₁−L2), R₁ representing the firstdistance between the target object and the first sub-panel, R2representing the second distance between the target object and the thirdsub-panel, L₁ representing a third distance between the wireless nodeand the first sub-panel, L₂ representing a fourth distance between thewireless node and the third sub-panel, c representing a propagationspeed of electromagnetic waves, T_(TxLOS) representing a first time thatthe wireless node transmits the first sensing signal, and T_(Rx)representing a second time that the wireless node receives the returningsignal; and determine the position of the target object according to thesummation R_(sum) of the first distance R₁ and the second distance R₂.

Clause 84. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses76 to 83, wherein: the MIMO radar sensing operation is a coherent MIMOradar sensing operation, and the wireless node is a user equipment (UE)or a base station.

Clause 85. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a wireless node,cause the wireless node to: determine a first configuration associatedwith a first group of reconfigurable intelligence surfaces (RIS's), eachRIS of the first group of RIS's being configured based on the firstconfiguration for enabling a respective signal path from the wirelessnode toward a first target area; and transmit or receiving a firstplurality of signals, to or from the first target area, via the firstgroup of RIS's in accordance with the first configuration.

Clause 86. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 85,wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by thewireless node, cause the wireless node to: determine a secondconfiguration associated with a second group of RIS's, each RIS of thesecond group of RIS's being configured based on the second configurationfor enabling a respective signal path from the wireless node toward asecond target area; and transmit or receiving a second plurality ofsignals, to or from the second target area, via the second group ofRIS's in accordance with the second configuration, wherein: the firstgroup of RIS's is different from the second group of RIS's, and thefirst target area is different from the second target area.

Clause 87. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses85 to 86, wherein the first group of RIS's is configured to redirectsensing signals toward the first target area, and the sensing signalsare distinguishable from one another by orthogonality thereof based onone or more of Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency-DivisionMultiplexing (FDM), or Code-Division Multiplexing (CDM) in accordancewith the first configuration.

Clause 88. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 87,wherein the CDM corresponds to individual RIS's of the first group ofRIS's being configured to incorporate different watermarks or orthogonalcomplementary codes embedded in corresponding signals, respectively.

Clause 89. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses85 to 88, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed bythe wireless node, cause the wireless node to: transmit, via each RIS ofthe first group of RIS's, a respective sensing signal for performing amultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar sensing operation to thefirst target area based on the first configuration.

Clause 90. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 89,wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by thewireless node, cause the wireless node to: receive, via each RIS of thefirst group of RIS's, a respective returning signal in response to therespective sensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensingoperation from the first target area based on the first configuration.

Clause 91. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any of clauses89 to 90, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed bythe wireless node, cause the wireless node to: transmit the firstconfiguration associated with the first group of RIS's, the at least oneother wireless node being configured to receive, via each RIS of thefirst group of RIS's, a respective returning signal in response to therespective sensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensingoperation from the first target area based on the first configuration.

Clause 92. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of clause 91,wherein: the MIMO radar sensing operation is a non-coherent MIMO radarsensing operation, and the wireless node and the at least one otherwireless node are one user equipment (UE) and one base station, two UEs,or two base stations.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an ASIC, a field-programable gate array (FPGA), or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be amicroprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be anyconventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. Aprocessor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices,for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other such configuration.

The methods, sequences and/or algorithms described in connection withthe aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in random access memory (RAM), flashmemory, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, aremovable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known inthe art. An example storage medium is coupled to the processor such thatthe processor can read information from, and write information to, thestorage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integralto the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in anASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In thealternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discretecomponents in a user terminal.

In one or more example aspects, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media may be any available media that can be accessed by acomputer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readablemedia can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code inthe form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed bya computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects of thedisclosure, it should be noted that various changes and modificationscould be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosureas defined by the appended claims. The functions, steps and/or actionsof the method claims in accordance with the aspects of the disclosuredescribed herein need not be performed in any particular order.Furthermore, although elements of the disclosure may be described orclaimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation tothe singular is explicitly stated.

1. A method of operating a wireless node, comprising: determining asub-panel configuration associated with a reconfigurable intelligencesurface (RIS) that includes a plurality of sub-panels; and transmittingor receiving one or more signals via one or more sub-panels of theplurality of sub-panels in accordance with the sub-panel configuration.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting or receiving the oneor more signals comprises: transmitting, via a first sub-panel of theplurality of sub-panels, a first sensing signal for performing amultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar sensing operation to atarget area based on the sub-panel configuration.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the transmitting or receiving the one or more signalscomprises: transmitting, via a second sub-panel of the plurality ofsub-panels, a second sensing signal for performing the MIMO radarsensing operation to the target area based on the sub-panelconfiguration.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first sensingsignal is distinguishable from the second sensing signal byorthogonality thereof based on one or more of Time-Division Multiplexing(TDM), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), or Code-DivisionMultiplexing (CDM) in accordance with the sub-panel configuration. 5.The method of claim 4, wherein the CDM corresponds to the firstsub-panel and the second sub-panel configured to incorporate differentwatermarks or orthogonal complementary codes embedded in the firstsensing signal and the second sensing signal, respectively.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the first sensing signal and the secondsensing signal are obtained from a same source sensing signaltransmitted by the wireless node.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein thetransmitting or receiving the one or more signals comprises: receiving,via the first sub-panel, a returning signal in response to the firstsensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensing operation from thetarget area based on the sub-panel configuration.
 8. The method of claim2, wherein the transmitting or receiving the one or more signalscomprises: receiving, via a third sub-panel of the plurality ofsub-panels, a returning signal in response to the first sensing signalfor performing the MIMO radar sensing operation from the target areabased on the sub-panel configuration.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein:the first sub-panel and the third sub-panel are paired based on thesub-panel configuration, the first sub-panel is configured based on thesub-panel configuration to enable a signal path for transmissionperformed by the wireless node, and the third sub-panel is configuredbased on the sub-panel configuration to enable a signal path forreception performed by the wireless node.
 10. The method of claim 8,further comprising: identifying the received returning signal based on awatermark or an orthogonal complementary code associated with the thirdsub-panel embedded in the returning signal.
 11. The method of claim 10,further comprising: identifying the received returning signal based onone other watermark or one other orthogonal complementary codeassociated with the first sub-panel embedded in the returning signal.12. The method of claim 11, wherein: the watermark or the orthogonalcomplementary code associated with the third sub-panel includes anindicator indicating that the third sub-panel is configured to enable asignal path for reception performed by the wireless node, and the otherwatermark or the other orthogonal complementary code associated with thefirst sub-panel includes one other indicator indicating that the firstsub-panel is configured to enable a signal path for transmissionperformed by the wireless node.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein: thereturning signal corresponds to an echo resulting from an interactionbetween the first sensing signal and a target object, and the methodfurther comprises determining a position of the target object accordingto a reference ellipsoid defined by using positions of the firstsub-panel and the third sub-panel as anchors of the reference ellipsoid.14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: determining a summationR_(sum) of a first distance R₁ and a second distance R₂ according to anequation ofR _(sum) =R ₁ +R ₂=(T _(Rx) −T _(TxLOS))*c−(L ₁ −L ₂), R₁ representingthe first distance between the target object and the first sub-panel, R₂representing the second distance between the target object and the thirdsub-panel, L₁ representing a third distance between the wireless nodeand the first sub-panel, L₂ representing a fourth distance between thewireless node and the third sub-panel, c representing a propagationspeed of electromagnetic waves, T_(TxLOS) representing a first time thatthe wireless node transmits the first sensing signal, and T_(Rx)representing a second time that the wireless node receives the returningsignal; and determining the position of the target object according tothe summation R_(sum) of the first distance R₁ and the second distanceR₂.
 15. The method of claim 7, wherein: the MIMO radar sensing operationis a coherent MIMO radar sensing operation, and the wireless node is auser equipment (UE) or a base station.
 16. A method of operating awireless node, comprising: determining a first configuration associatedwith a first group of reconfigurable intelligence surfaces (RIS's), eachRIS of the first group of RIS's being configured based on the firstconfiguration for enabling a respective signal path from the wirelessnode toward a first target area; and transmitting or receiving a firstplurality of signals, to or from the first target area, via the firstgroup of RIS's in accordance with the first configuration.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, further comprising: determining a secondconfiguration associated with a second group of RIS's, each RIS of thesecond group of RIS's being configured based on the second configurationfor enabling a respective signal path from the wireless node toward asecond target area; and transmitting or receiving a second plurality ofsignals, to or from the second target area, via the second group ofRIS's in accordance with the second configuration, wherein: the firstgroup of RIS's is different from the second group of RIS's, and thefirst target area is different from the second target area.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, wherein the first group of RIS's is configured toredirect sensing signals toward the first target area, and the sensingsignals are distinguishable from one another by orthogonality thereofbased on one or more of Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM),Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), or Code-Division Multiplexing(CDM) in accordance with the first configuration.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the CDM corresponds to individual RIS's of the firstgroup of RIS's being configured to incorporate different watermarks ororthogonal complementary codes embedded in corresponding signals,respectively.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the transmitting orreceiving the first plurality of signals comprises: transmitting, viaeach RIS of the first group of RIS's, a respective sensing signal forperforming a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar sensingoperation to the first target area based on the first configuration. 21.The method of claim 20, wherein the transmitting or receiving the firstplurality of signals comprises: receiving, via each RIS of the firstgroup of RIS's, a respective returning signal in response to therespective sensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensingoperation from the first target area based on the first configuration.22. The method of claim 20, further comprising: transmitting, by thewireless node to at least one other wireless node, the firstconfiguration associated with the first group of RIS's, the at least oneother wireless node being configured to receive, via each RIS of thefirst group of RIS's, a respective returning signal in response to therespective sensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensingoperation from the first target area based on the first configuration.23. The method of claim 22, wherein: the MIMO radar sensing operation isa non-coherent MIMO radar sensing operation, and the wireless node andthe at least one other wireless node are one user equipment (UE) and onebase station, two UEs, or two base stations.
 24. A wireless node,comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; and at least oneprocessor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least onetransceiver, the at least one processor configured to: determine asub-panel configuration associated with a reconfigurable intelligencesurface (RIS) that includes a plurality of sub-panels; and transmit orreceive, via the at least one transceiver, one or more signals via oneor more sub-panels of the plurality of sub-panels in accordance with thesub-panel configuration.
 25. The wireless node of claim 24, wherein theat least one processor is configured to: transmit, via the at least onetransceiver and via a first sub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, afirst sensing signal for performing a multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) radar sensing operation to a target area based on the sub-panelconfiguration.
 26. The wireless node of claim 25, wherein the at leastone processor is configured to: transmit, via the at least onetransceiver and via a second sub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, asecond sensing signal for performing the MIMO radar sensing operation tothe target area based on the sub-panel configuration.
 27. The wirelessnode of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:receive, via the at least one transceiver and via the first sub-panel, areturning signal in response to the first sensing signal for performingthe MIMO radar sensing operation from the target area based on thesub-panel configuration.
 28. The wireless node of claim 25, wherein theat least one processor is configured to: receive, via the at least onetransceiver and via a third sub-panel of the plurality of sub-panels, areturning signal in response to the first sensing signal for performingthe MIMO radar sensing operation from the target area based on thesub-panel configuration.
 29. A wireless node, comprising: a memory; atleast one transceiver; and at least one processor communicativelycoupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least oneprocessor configured to: determine a first configuration associated witha first group of reconfigurable intelligence surfaces (RIS's), each RISof the first group of RIS's being configured based on the firstconfiguration for enabling a respective signal path from the wirelessnode toward a first target area; and transmit or receive, via the atleast one transceiver, a first plurality of signals, to or from thefirst target area, via the first group of RIS's in accordance with thefirst configuration.
 30. The wireless node of claim 29, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to: determine a secondconfiguration associated with a second group of RIS's, each RIS of thesecond group of RIS's being configured based on the second configurationfor enabling a respective signal path from the wireless node toward asecond target area; and transmit or receive, via the at least onetransceiver, a second plurality of signals, to or from the second targetarea, via the second group of RIS's in accordance with the secondconfiguration, wherein: the first group of RIS's is different from thesecond group of RIS's, and the first target area is different from thesecond target area.